Escaping from the gallery, mild security measures and sleeping guard aside, was no small task.  The key was to ensure no trace of them was left behind.  No one could know they were there.  Because, in fact, they never were.

Nemesis, his face now changed under his mask, informed the others that he would be making a short trip while they made their way to the hotel. He tapped Stone on the shoulder and the two took a left down an alley, leaving the others to find their own mode of transportation.

Quickly explaining what he wanted, Nemesis ignominiously allowed the biker hero to fly him to Pops' Bar. At this hour there was no one there, and Luke knew that he, himself, was already asleep at this time. It was a simple matter for Luke and Stone to enter the "unused" building next to the bar and make their way to Nemesis' armory.

"My home away from home," Nemesis said with a hint of pride, flipping on the lights. The armory revealed a workshop, an office space, lots of cabinets, drawers and tools, and a secured vault area that they soon entered. As Nemesis plucked a variety of tools, weapons and other miscellaneous items from their relative containers, he spoke over his shoulder.

"You think we have a chance with this?"

"Better than average," the stoic biker responded.  "But that's not what's bothering me."

"Lay it on me, brother," Nemesis replied, a little too flippant. It sounded forced, and it was. So much about this was bothering him, he couldn't even guess at the issues his friend and teammate might have. He steadied himself and focused on his equipment.

"Seabass," Stone summed up in a word.  "We both know eventually it's going to come down to us versus the D's.  How long before he decides to go back and change our history?  I mean, who's to say he hasn't already?"

He paused contemplatively.  His neutral tone took on an understated severity.  "I'm not sure I can live with that blade over my head, bro."

Luke sighed, resting both hands on the workbench in front of him.

"I know," he said after a moment. "I don't like it, either. But the truth of the matter is that the whole damn family is powered up. Phi can mess with heads. Sebastian can mess with time. God knows what else they can do as a family."

He shook his head and faced Stone. "That blade's always there, Stone. This time we just happen to know about it." He smirked. "Besides, not many people are overly fond of a vigilante who can break into just about anywhere much less a big bad biker boy who can beat up tanks. We're all dangerous, Stone, each in our own way. I can't judge someone guilty just because he has a name I don't like." He turned back around to finish. "As much as I'd like to," he muttered.

"Truth be told," he continued to Stone, still working. "I'm betting the DiSantiagos are more worried about us than we are about them." He closed a cupboard and reached for a black duffel bag under the counter. "That's as it should be, and that's the way I like it." He started putting his gear in the duffel, then started shrugging out of his costume, no mean feat in itself.

Stone heard what Luke had said.  He wasn't wrong, but... Stone just wasn't sure.  It would have to get sorted out later in any event.

"One more thing," the biker said.  When Nemesis turned to look at him with a slight hint of frustration Stone asked, "Where's your head at?  I know what she meant to you but we're in the shit now.  No shame in losing focus after what happened but I need to know."

Luke smiled. "No, it's cool. And yeah, I got a little fuzzy there for a bit, but seriously, I'm good. We have a whole day to do over, to get it right. As long as the groundhog doesn't drive angry I should be good to go." He shrugged a little. "I was actually more worried about whether we should do this. Seems wrong somehow. Even if..." he gestured vaguely, unable to complete his thought. "I mean, I'll do it. If it was just about me, no. But Bastian and the others, they'd try this with or without us. At least this way we keep everyone on track." His smile was back. "So yeah, I'm good. It's all about the job, baby."

"It better be," Stone said heavily, walking up and poking Luke in the chest with a finger.  The biker's face was as his namesake and his quiet tone was serious.  Luke's altered expression was mirrored in stereo upon his dark lenses.

"You better get that head of yours on a swivel, bro.  Don't trust anybody."  Then he took a step back and shrugged.  "You know, 'cept me."

"Nobody loves me more than me," Luke replied with a grin. The smile slipped into something more serious. "And I do trust you, Stone. That's why you're here. To watch my back and to kick me in the ass if I need it." He smirked. "Figuratively speaking, of course. I don't want to end up in orbit."

Stone put his fist out and got a bump in return.

Pulling up to the Stewart Regency a short time later yielded an almost palpable sense of deja vu.  It was early, the sun hadn't yet risen.  The city was just waking.  It had been three months since they'd last been inside these walls and formally announced their resolve against crime.  Already it seemed so long ago.  Promises made then seemed more personally relevant now.  Perhaps the Syndicate chose this location for a reason.  This reason, specifically. Luke, in his altered guise, and Stone landed in a nearby alley and joined the others at the front.

The six men entered the grand lobby in the early hours of the previous day.  They could have been any six men.  It could have been any other day.  It was gorgeous, even if not decorated for a DiSantiago affair.  Vast marble tile and pillars.  Gold and crystal chandeliers.  It was also quite vacant.

"Welcome to the Stewart Regency, gentlemen," offered a young, attractive brunette from behind the concierge desk whose bronze name tag read simply Cynthia.  She smiled sweetly.  "How can we help you this morning?"

Luke yawned, only half faking it. "Just a room, please," he said, affecting a tired smile He hitched at the duffel over his shoulder. "Two, I guess. We just need a place to crash for a few. And shower." He glanced pointedly at Palmer. "Some of us need a shower."

"I got this."  Vincent volunteered in an even tone as he stepped up to the counter.

"Mr. DiSantiago, of course.  Your normal suite?"  The pretty woman asked, keeping her voice pitched low to ensure his privacy.

"Thanks Cindy."  Vincent replied with a wink as he took the key cards and hurried to catch up with the others.  When he caught up he passed one of the cards to Sebastian.  "I guess this can be our base for the day.  Fifteenth floor."

Sebastián slipped the key card into his pocket and started making his way towards the elevator, glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to over hear, before speaking softly, which with his new voice made him sound as if he were imitating Christian Bale's Batman, but poorly.  "Should we head to the room first, or should we explore a bit before making our way uptop?"

"The room," Luke said, giving the strap of his bag a tug. "This isn't exactly light, you know."

Stone snorted in amusement at that but bit off the 'carry your schoolbooks, little lady' joke he was going to make.  Nem could handle the ribbing, he knew, but he needed to keep this serious.

Vinny nodded good naturedly as he held the door open for the rest of them on the elevator, but most of those assembled could tell that the DiSantiago was putting on a front.

The fifteenth floor Regal Suites were reserved for only the most elite, discriminating patrons of the Stewart Regency which, more often than not, shared the DiSantiago name.  As suites went, it lived up to its name, with more amenities than an upscale downtown apartment.  It was spacious and expensive, with rich wood floors or marble tile, a complete kitchen and fully stocked bar, a bathtub big enough for ten, a hundred thousand dollar entertainment system, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the waking city.

It was 7:35 am.

"Make yourselves at home."  Vinny said as he headed towards the bar and poured himself a double shot of Crown Royal. He threw it back and winced before heading into one of the back rooms.  Another room full of people might have missed the subtle lift of his brow as he looked towards Bastian.  This room of observant people, however, could almost hear the unspoken, Cuz?, as he departed.

Sebastián hesitated for the briefest of moments, knowing what a private meeting between two "D's" would look like to the rest of the men. He had an idea what Vinny needed to talk to him about, and it would be up for open discussion soon enough. The rest of them could wait, Family first. 

Luke sighed and dropped his duffel on the ground by the counter. He rolled his shoulders once or twice.

"Lemme see," Stone said, edging Danny away from the fridge to look inside. 

"How about we ditch the civilian for starters," Palmer said quietly. He took a few steps backwards until he felt the wall behind him, then unabashedly turned his head to focus his ears - and other senses - on the private conversation in the other room.

Stone came out of the fridge like a bear emerging from hibernation.  He held two frosty bottles of Blue Moon lager.  He set one on the counter and opened the other.

"Breakfast of champions," he deadpanned to Danny before draining half of the bottle. Luke paused only barely before swiping the other one.

Danny was staring down at his shoes, a look of worry upon his face. "This isn't tha way," he said finally, shaking his head. He looked up and down the corridor that Sebastian and Vinny had gone down, his frown deepening. A few more moments passed, and his look of concern deepened.

"Man, this whole deal is bullshit," Stone said.  "But at this point, it is what it is, so get over it."

"So where's Mason?" Palmer replied calmly. He gave Stone a long look, then shrugged and looked at Nemesis.

"Who's Mason?" Stone asked.

Palmer chuckled. "That would be the guy you removed from the equation because he was going to be a problem. I think Vinny might be a problem too." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm not saying tie him up in the closet, just that he's got a hair trigger and might not be the person to bring into volatile situations."

"They're probably saying the same thing," Luke said, rubbing his shoulder. That bag was heavy. He used the hand holding the beer to gesture to the back room. "It shapes up like this: we're Conquistadors. We save people. They're DiSantiagos. They look after their own. Right now our interests intersect. We worry about any fallout after the fact."

Danny looked like he was going to say something to that, but kept his silence. The look he directed at the men standing near him was assessing.

"Okay, you guys are the experts," Palmer said without rancor. He'd done his bit by giving a warning and now it was Nemesis's problem. Hell, why should Ed care if Vinny blew away some bad guys?

Luke walked around slowly, looking over the place. "Damn. This place is bigger than the house I grew up in." He gave a quick shake of his head.

"We figure out who our shooter is and then we follow the money. This is not a spur-of-the-moment thing. It took planning and resources, and that takes cash. We find out who's paying the bills and everything else should fall into place."

Palmer fished in his inside pocket, produced the hotel key found on the shooter, and tossed it to Nemesis. "Time to visit the neighbors?" he asked.

The hallway leading from the main room was a bit longer than Sebastián remembered, giving him a few moments to collect his thoughts.  As he came upon his cousin he put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "How are you holding up Vinny, I can't imagine what you're thinking right now."

The pleasant demeanor had fallen away from Vincent and he glowered angrily as he went to the windows and shut the curtains.  He opened his mouth to speak and then just shook his head. 

Recognizing the impending explosion in Vinny's body language, Sebastián sat on one of the chairs, and waited.  Inwardly he welcomed this distraction, this opportunity to occupy his mind with something other than 'the event.'

Vinny paced for a moment, back and forth across the room, making no effort to hide the emotions that were flitting across his face.  "None of this is fucking right.  Who the hell is he?  And why the fuck did Phi take that bullet?  You know as well as I do, she saw that coming.  This isn't fucking right, if we do get her back...when we get her back, she's done.  ..or he's done.  This entire team, is done for her.  Once Ange finds out that ..."

Sebastián studied his cousin, not with the clinical detached look most head shrinkers would affect, but with understanding and acceptance. If he were in Vinny's shoe's he was fairly sure he'd have lost his cool long ago. He would nod his head and murmur that he understood whenever Vinny let him get a word in, which wasn't all that often. Once it seemed he'd gotten most of it off his chest he spoke up trying to address his comments one at a time.

Vinny turned around and punched the wall hard.  "Fuck!  How could you let this happen?  ...and Mason, you just let that go?  ...and what the fuck is up with this going back into time shit?  This is some seriously fucked up shit.  How long..."  He finally winced and shook his hand, as the pain made it's way through his anger fueled mind.

"You are absolutely correct, none of this is right.  Phi chose to do... what she did because she felt... she feels that this group, this team of superheroes is her 'thing.'  You have your clubs, I have my practice, she had nothing.  Ever since Dean disappeared she's been drifting, with no focus and no direction.  When she decided to form this team, she had a spark I've not seen in her in over 2 years.  I'm quite sure you are right, she saw this coming, but to her, losing Nemesis would mean the loss of this team and I don't believe she was able to accept that.  I don't agree with what she did, but I understand it."

"Well, she's a fucking idiot.  I'm gonna tell her that, too.  God damn it, she's an idiot."  Vinny glared at his cousin, obviously holding him responsible for his sister's lunacy.  "So that's in, then.  She's not, you know...  she's not fucking him, is she?"

A soft sigh escaped him as he heard Vinny's question. He'd avoided thinking about this question since 'the event', but he couldn't any longer. "To be honest Vinny, I'm not sure, and that scares me.  I would like to think she hasn't crossed that line,  but it's obvious she feels strongly for him.  She could be, but if you made me guess right now, I would say no."

"Good."  Vinny said, his face pinched and Bastian could tell he was trying to bite his tongue, but in the end it was a losing battle.  "Cause, that's Mason's business and nobody else's. Anyone else will end up just like Dean Masterson.  That cocky, cheating ass son of a fucking bitch. I hope he's rotting in hell right now.  I'd put money on Mason taking care of that prick, and you just let them push his loyal ass out of that portal."

Sebastián ground his teeth a bit, fighting back the anger he felt at having the whole, 'Mason going back through the portal', be his fault. "As for Mason, there wasn't a lot I could do. I was focused on closing the portal, when he got shoved through at the last second. I'm not sure what you'd have wanted me to do against a room full of heroes, because I guarantee you, going after Stone would have brought all of them against me. My hands were tied.  I truly hope he made it through alright, or there will be problems when we get back."

"You better fucking believe there's gonna be problems when we get back.  He was one of us, he would have had our back, and he's always been with us.  Me.  You.  Mason & Phi.  God Dammit!  Now we're out numbered.  What the fuck are we going to do, if we don't see eye to eye?  You said it yourself!  Other than Palmer, we've got a fuckin' room full of metas.  Scary fucking shit, cuz.  That's scary fucking shit."

Again Bastian sighed, and lowered his eyes. The whole losing Mason thing really did put a kink in his plans. He was sure that between Mason and Vinny, should anything happen, the three of them would get things handled.  "I know we are outnumbered, and out powered. Yes that is a very scary thing. However, this isn't the first time our family has been outnumbered, or out powered. We need to keep our wits about us. We are Di fucking Santiago's.  You have massive connections in this city, you are the best chance we have of finding anything out about the Syndicate, and they need information. They need me to get back to our time, and I've got a trick or two up my sleeve yet. Not all my cards are on the table. 

"Yeah?  That hand of yours is scary shit, cuz."  Scary fucking shit.  Even without saying it, his habitual repetition of phrases echoed in both of their minds.

Sebastián took a breath and studied his cousin's face carefully. "As far as Ange finding out, well I'd rather he didn't. No one knows what I can do Vinny.  You guys are the only people I've ever told, not even Phi knew.  I'd really rather no one knew, but I can't fix that now. All I can do is hope no one shares my secret, because if the wrong people found out, well it might just be the end of my freedom."

Vinny met Bastian's eyes and his face sobered and paled as the realization hit him.  He walked over to the closest chair and collapsed into it, spent and frustrated.  "Jesus fucking Christ.  You didn't even tell Phi?  Ah...Jesus Christ.  If Ange finds out I knew, and didn't tell him.  Ah...  Fuck, you're screwed.  Now we're all screwed.  Damn that idiot sister of yours.  Damn her to fucking hell!"

Sebastián let Vinny vent, wanting nothing more than to join him in cursing his luck, and his sister for putting him in this position.  "There is a reason I didn't bring Angelo or Javier with us, I don't want them to know, I didn't want anyone to know.  Vinny, it wasn't something I thought I could share, even with Phi. How would I even go about it? 'Oh by the way Phi, I can make a portal to visit any time I want. How was your piano lesson?' 

He paused and carefully considered the words he would speak next. Sebastián knew Vinny wouldn't break his trust, but a little guilt wouldn't hurt his chances.  "Vinny, you know I would rather you kept this from Ange, but I'm not going to ask you to get yourself killed to keep my secret. If you feel this is something you have to tell him, I will understand. I wish this hadn't happened, and I wish I didn't have to reveal my secret to Outsiders first, but I can't change what is done. "

There was an audible sigh from Vinny and a dismissive wave of his hand, at that.  "Don't worry about it.  Your secrets are safe with me.  Let's just get Baby back and keep me out of the slammer."

Nodding, Sebastián said quietly "Don't kill anyone and you won't go to the slammer. As of right now the guy you shot is alive, so no one has anything on you."  He held his hands up in protest, immediately suspecting what his cousin would say. "I know I know, we look out for our own, but they don't." a quick gesture with his hand towards the main room identified who they were. "You shoot anyone around them, they will take you down, or try to at least."

Vinny looked at him with earnest eyes and nodded his head.  "Yeah, I had a dumb ass attack...  I just...  It was Baby. ...and I lost it.  I'll try my best to keep it together."

Sebastián's expression hardened as he answered, but it was unclear if it was the memory of Phi's death or Vinny's mistake that caused it. "We can't afford any mistakes while we are here, under their microscope.  We need to act like the Fed's are watching us 24/7.  I get WHY you did it, and I respect you being able to do something I wouldn't have been able to, but that was before.  Just remind yourself, this is for Baby." He knew Phi hated being called that name, but it was familiar to Vinny, so it was a tool to be used.

A deep breath.  Vinny filled his cheeks full of air and slowly exhaled it.  "You should get back to the others before they think we've skipped out on them.  I'll join you in a minute." 

Reaching up and clasping Vinny's shoulder, Sebastián looked at him intently. "You're all I have now, and I need you focused and on point. Take what time you need and pull it together."

"Nemesis," Danny said into the silence. "Ya need ta talk ta those two - it can't be us and them, and it's lookin ta go down that way unless ya bring it together. They're scared, and it's gonna make em do somethin stupid unless it's nipped in the bud." It was odd hearing the Irish grammar said in an Asian accent. "This can't turn inta some sorta 'go after the DiSantiago's' thing. They think it will. And I know they do cause I can hear em talkin." 

Stone gave Nemesis a look on his way to the couch.  He grabbed the television remote and turned the unit on before plopping down on the soft leather.

Luke nodded. He stared at his beer. "Yeah." He nodded again, more slowly. "Yeah." He took a long drink and stared at the door to the back room. He blinked. "Wait." He turned to Danny. "You can actually hear them?"

"Yeah," Danny replied. "I'd made some changes to deal with the noise and such fer the event, and hadn't reverted em yet. Vision and hearing are boosted." 

Luke seemed impressed. "Cool trick."

Danny shook his head. "Sebastian's comin out now," he whispered, then settled himself onto one of the overstuffed couches. "Can I see that keycard?" he asked Nemesis, holding out a hand.

Luke shrugged and handed it over.

Sebastián ran his fingers through his hair as he made his way back to the main area of the suite.  He paused upon breaking the threshold, looking around at the men in the room.  "Vinny was understandably a bit unnerved by today's events, and my revelation,  but he is alright now, he'll just need a few moments longer and he'll rejoin us."  

Luke nodded. "Good, because we need to talk." His look encompassed the whole room. "All of us."

Walking slowly to the bar, Sebastián poured himself a tumbler of Scotch, neat.  "I think that is an excellent idea. Conversation is always a good thing, so long as we don't delay too long. We have quite a bit to do today." Sipping his drink, he let his eyes casually scan the room.

Only a few more moments passed before Vinny joined the rest of them, the fact that almost all of the eyes in the room were on him, wasn't lost. He walked over to the bar and poured himself another shot, then he pulled out a stool and sat down.  He seemed a bit smaller than before and more haggard.  He was less cocky and sure of himself, and it was easy to tell that it didn't suit the DiSantiago.  Not one bit.

Once Vinnie seemed settled Luke took a swig of his beer and set it on a table. He then faced the group, his hands in his pockets.

“We need to clear the air,” Luke began without preamble.

He took a deep breath and focused on Vinny. “First and foremost, Vinny, you need to know that we’re not out to get you. You killed a man a short while ago, but we’ve gone back a day, so that didn’t actually happen. Do we now know what you’re capable of? Sure. Some of us already knew, I think, but that’s neither here nor there. No crime has been committed, so we’ve got nothing on you.” He made a point to make eye contact. “Okay?”

Vinny took this opportunity to throw back his shot, and his eyes strayed for a moment towards Bastian.  It was a fleeting thought, but for a moment he wondered if his cousin had betrayed his confidences.  "I think I like the sound of that."

“Right now you’re just another member of this team. You work with us and we’ll work with you. As long as you don’t cross the line in the here-and-now we can forget the other thing as temporary insanity or something.” He allowed himself a small smile. “Does that sound workable?”

"Yes."  Vinny said simply, but there was obvious relief on his face.  Nemesis' words had obviously brought him some sense of peace.

“Okay, then. The next thing we have to get out of the way is this “us and them” bullshit.” His gaze encompassed the entire group. “There is no ‘us and them’, people. It’s just us. In this room. Not Conquistadors, not DiSantiagos, and you have to choose which side you’re on. Just us trying to make things right. Put aside the other bullshit, at least until we get this done. Trust is in short enough supply that we don’t need to be drawing lines in the sand. Danny, Sebastian, you’re part of The Conquistadors. I’ll trust you until you give me a reason not to, just like with anyone else. That doesn’t mean I trust you fully, but I’m more than willing to give you the benefit of the doubt. Vinny, I gave Raph the same chance I’m giving you, and so far he hasn’t disappointed me. Work with us and we’ll work with you. We can at least be allies, if not friends.”

"Well, I'm a fucking saint compared to Raph.  So, I think we'll get along well enough."  At this, Vinny gave Nemesis an evaluating look, considering for the first time that maybe just maybe, Phi wasn't a complete idiot.

Sebastián was impressed so far, this was truly a 'leader' speech.  He was saying all the right things, and more importantly, it seemed as if he truly meant them.  This might just be what Vinny needed to hear.

“Any questions thus far?”

"Mason," Danny said simply.

"Yeah.  What the fuck."  Vinny echoed.

“In regards to Mason, that was a judgment call.” He glanced at Stone before continuing. “Sebastian, I know you wanted him with us, but even you have to admit that he was spoiling for a fight."

"He was an asshole," Stone threw out while he watched Sportscenter with the volume turned off.

Sebastián bristled at Stone's comment, but he fought down the anger he felt, forcing himself to maintain his composure. Quickly he shot a glance over at Vinny, hoping he would keep his cool, and not fly off the handle. To his dismay, Vinny was glaring openly at the team's brick. 

"My only concern with it, is that ya didn't know what the effects could be. Ya shoved him through a thing ya know nuthin about... could'a killed him, for all we knew." Danny met Stone's gaze. Rather, he met Stone's sunglasses.

Nodding, Sebastián added "I have to echo Danny's concern's here. Mason should and I stress should be ok, it seemed as if he got through before I closed the portal, but I've never gone through as I was closing it. I can't say with absolute certainty one way or the other."

"That's not cool. At all." Danny agreed.

Stone replied by taking a pull from his beer and continuing to watch Sportscenter. 

Danny shook his head and turned his attention back to Nemesis.

"Yeah, well..." Luke gave up. He couldn't defend Stone, and frankly he didn't think he should. "We'll hope for the best when we get back."

Weak, Danny thought. He said nothing, letting this go. Why him?

Luke paused to give Stone a "you're not helping" look before continuing. "I don’t know what you wanted him for, Sebastian, but we weren’t going to be able to work together. That much was clear. I’m sorry if this upset your plans, but I don’t begrudge Stone’s actions one bit. He stopped a fight—either right then and there or later on down the road. A fight that could have cost us the mission. Can you understand that side of it?”

Taking another sip of his drink, Sebastian focused his gaze on Nemesis. "You have to understand, coming up, we were always together. Phi, Mason, Vinny and myself, we did everything together.  I knew of all the people in that room he would help me without hesitation.  If Vinny's contacts were unable to help us, I figured Mason's would pick up the slack.  It just felt like he belonged here."

Nemesis shrugged, a gesture of acceptance rather than indifference. He could understand that well enough.

"As far as the confrontation, to be honest I wasn't focused on what was going on between Mason and anyone else, I was busy keeping time frozen, and opening the portal getting us here. The only way I knew there was an issue was watching him fly through the portal as I closed it." Bastian said, frowning a bit.

“Fair enough.” Luke pursed his lips in thought. “And for what it's worth I hope he's okay. I'm not belittling the incident, but It's nothing we can do anything about at the moment, so it'll have to wait.

"Last thing," he continued. "What are we trying to do?” He began to pace a little, mainly walking in a small circle. “We have to find and dismantle The Syndicate. It’s not enough to just save Phi. It’s not enough to save my friend and stop the bombs. This group needs to be put down, and I’ll tell you why.”

He held up one finger. “First, because they threaten The Conquistadors. They’re willing to make it personal, to go after friends and families to disrupt us. If it works on me it’ll work on any of you. They’ve also shown how far they’re willing to go to get us out of the way, which tells me that we’re the threat to them that we want to be. But it also means that they’re a danger not only to us, but to everyone around us, and that, my friends, just ain’t gonna fly.”

“Second,” he held up another finger and looked pointedly at Vinny. “They’re a threat to the DiSantiagos. Not only are they willing to risk going after a team of supers, but they’re apparently willing to ignore or remove the DiSantiagos in the process. Your family can’t afford that in any arena. You lose face, you lose control, and eventually everything you and your family has worked for, on both sides of the line, goes to hell.”

“Which means,” Luke continued, again including everyone. “That we’re all in this together. If we can’t stop them then it won’t matter who gets hurt or killed, because we’ll all be in more trouble than we are now.”

He paused again. “Comments and questions more than welcome at this point, people.”

"I can appreciate what you're saying."  Vinny said in a surprisingly professional tone considering the amount of alcohol he'd had this evening.  "...but from what I know, this is something big.  I don't think that taking the entire Syndicate is something we can accomplish in one day." 

"Ah..shit."  Vinny paused for a moment and then continued.  "Look.  I don't know much about this group.  But I knew something was going to happen today.  That's why I was at that stupid ass auction.  I figured that it would be someplace to lay low and stay off the radar. Everyone knew that something was happening today, this whole Syndicate group has a lot of people worried.  They call them the unholy alliance.  Until today they weren't a concern of mine, they didn't mess in my particular operations, so I kept off their radar.  ...but I don't think bringing down the Syndicate, is a one day gig, Boss."

"So then," said Danny calmly. "We make it simple. We take down whoever's in tha room fast, but we have ta do it in a way that a warnin' cant be sounded. I'd guess that there's gonna be timed check in's with whoever's runnin tha show throughout tha day, makin sure everythin's on schedule, yeah? "

"It's what I'd do," Nemesis agreed, glad for the extra input.

"You," Danny indicated Palmer, "whoever ya are, and I'm still not sure on that point, said that these idiots have some sorta doctrine or philosophy, yeah?" 

Palmer blinked. Amidst all the alpha male dick wagging, there hadn't been any time for introductions.

"Did ya get ta see what that might be?" 

"Name's Ed," Palmer replied. "Sometimes I help Nemesis. And you're the new Conquistador, right?" It was a logical guess for an  observant bystander to make.

Danny nodded. It appeared he'd have to get used to minimal answers from those who surrounded their leader. "Danny McClain. Tha press knows me as Paladin. I heal people." 

"And I'm psychic. Rather like your colleague, Avatar, but..." He paused and grimaced. "Well, I'm not as good. Strictly bush league."

"What I got off the shooter," Ed continued," was dense and complex, and maybe I'm projecting too much onto it..." He mentally reviewed the memory of the psychic tangle. "It tracks with what Vinny is saying. These guys are serious and they have big plans. And I got the impression the motivation goes beyond profit. Like they want to spread anarchy."

"Okay." Nemesis stood still, facing the floor and thinking hard. "Okay. So we don't take 'em down completely. We need to blunt this attack and, hopefully, gather some good intel in the process, something we can use once we're done here. "Timing is going to be crucial, because we can't let them know we're onto them, just like we can't really let anyone know we're here."

He stopped, looked up. "Your contacts," he said to Vinny. "Is that going to be a problem? You asking questions while there's another you out and about today?"

"Not today Boss."  Vinny said as he pointed towards an imaginary light bulb over his head.  "Like I said, I took the day off, trying to stay out out of trouble.  Nobody knew I was going to that auction today.  So I can go in, business as usual, and nobody'd be the wiser.  I pretty much float about anyway, not really one of those regular schedule kind of guys, if you know what I mean."

Nemesis nodded. "Anyone else?" he asked, looking around the room. "Remember, we can't meet our present-time versions." Just the idea of time travel, of two Luke Merriweathers at the same time, made his head hurt. Fortunately he was pretty sure he could avoid his own double. He'd spent most of the day on the computer or at The Cathedral, logging incidents and trying to find crime patterns. Except for a couple hours' worth of bar errands, he'd mostly been off the grid.

Vinny nodded in understanding.  "Easy enough, Boss.  Easy enough."  He nodded again and poured himself another shot.  "If you don't have any objections, I'll stay here and make some calls.  Find out what I can about the Syndicate, while the rest of you check out that room.  I think it would be in everyone's best interest if I didn't lay eyes on that mother fucker again."

Nemesis nodded. "I can relate to that." He took a deep breath. "Well, guess we go check out our resident hitman, then." He checked his watch and walked over to his duffel. "It's early, so maybe we can catch him asleep. Assuming he's checked in already."

Sebastián nodded at his cousin, admiring his thinking. Not only did he show restraint staying behind but he'd have the room to himself, allowing him to conduct his business without ears listening in.  As he finished that thought, something clicked in his head.

"Hey Vin, maybe while you're making your calls, see if you can get us some throw-away phones? Might be better if we didn't use our regular ones, or am I being overly paranoid?" He took one last sip from his drink and made his way to the door.

"No such thing." Vinny replied. "I'll see what I can do."

Stone clicked the television off and stood up, leaving the remote on the couch.  He moved over to the others and gave Nemesis an "I'm ready" nod of his head.

"I can check his window... see if he's there, maybe hang round if he's not. Then let you all know when he shows up." Danny said, making a pair of wings of his hands.

"Dude." Nemesis looked impressed. "You can fly, too?" He shook his head with a wry grin. "Is there anything you can't do?"

"Lots," replied Danny promptly. "I can turn inta a bird," he explained with a shrug. "And a dog." He thought about this, then added "But the dog's a bit... noticeable." 

Nemesis nodded. "Duly noted." He took a deep breath and turned to Palmer. "You remember the first time we met? You got us a lead to the club, remember? Can you do something like that for us here, with the key card?"

"I can try again," Palmer said, accepting the card.

At first there was little more than before: the same feeling - just an intuition - that it belonged to the fifth floor.  He concentrated, feeling the card between his fingers.  There was a shutter.  Static.  He was no longer looking into the past.  The future was less clear.  The room was occupied, then vacant, then he was there, unaware of its past and anxious about its future.  The previous guest was so dark, so much worse than the next.  The scene blurred, lost reception, then disappeared altogether.

While Palmer was doing his thing, Danny gestured to Vinnie. "If he can't get anythin, can you take the card down to tha lobby and have one of yer people scan it or somethin? Find out what room it goes to?" 

"Yeah." Vinny said quietly as he mulled it over.  "I could get it done one way or the other, not sure how discreet they'd keep it, though."

"Not getting anything clear," Palmer spoke up. "You know, it might be simplest, and more discreet, to just try every door."

Vinny raised his brow as he looked at Danny and then Nemesis, waiting.  "That might be quicker, but if you want me to, I can grease some palms at the front desk."

"Quicker, but how do ya explain to whoever's in the hall why yer goin door ta door?" Danny asked. "I'm all for greasin palms." 

"Eh."  Vinny shrugged appreciatively.  "It's really fucking early, though.  Whichever is fine."  He turned his attention back to Nemesis, "Whatever you want Boss.  I'm happy to help."

"I'm good with trying the doors if you are," Nemesis replied. "The smaller a footprint we leave the better. We can always say we're hotel security or private eyes or something. If we can't bluff our way out of it we'll let Vinny do his thing."

"Not we," Palmer suggested. "Just one person should check. Draws less attention."

Vinny gave another slight nod of agreement.  "I...uh.  I've been known to stumble down a hotel hallway or two.  I doubt I'd raise any suspicion, but if there was trouble...  I'm not very well suited for anything that I can't talk my way out of."

"I'll go with him," Stone offered.

"Or...you could just go?"  Vinny offered with a somewhat dubious look.  It was obvious that despite Nemesis' good will speech, he was still nervous at the thought of being alone with Stone.

"Right," Danny said, plucking the keycard from Palmers grasp with surprising quickness. "I'm on it..." He winked at Nemesis, then headed out the door into the hall.

Nemesis stood and stared at the door for a minute. Finally he shrugged. "All righty, then," he said, reaching for his duffel.

Several minutes later, in the heroes' suite the phone rang, shattering a tense silence and causing at least one of the men to twitch. Palmer was closest to the phone. He quickly crossed the room and picked up the receiver.

"Hello,"  he said neutrally.

The maid rolled her eyes. It would be him. "So," she said in Danny's voice. "It's room 524. They shot me three times and stuffed me in the closet, but I got better." 

"They shot you?" Palmer repeated for the benefit of the room. Of course he got better. DiSantiagos always got another chance. "Where are they now?"

"Holy fuck."  Vinny breathed out.  "I'm glad I didn't go."

Silently watching from behind the bar Sebastián agreed with his cousin.

Nemesis, half-dressed in his uniform, made a shushing motion with his hand. He watched Palmer intently.

"I'm not sure. I was kind of busy not dying when they left." Danny replied. "There were two - kind of a thuggy one, black suit, tailored ta fit. And another I didn't get a good look at, on account of the aforementioned being shot and dyin." Danny said. "I think the second one wasn't real happy with tha first one for shootin me." 

"Are you following them?"

Danny's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I'm on their tails right now, holdin me liver in place and tryin not ta make a scene. I. Got. Shot." he repeated slowly,  "Three times." He added once more, in case the first couple of go rounds hadn't sunk in. I'm tryin ta heal," he said, examining a fingernail critically, one foot tapping impatiently on the carpeted floor, " and will probably have that done in a minute or two, but wanted ta call and tell someone what was goin on." 

"Hang on," Palmer said impatiently. Why the hell had the man grabbed the key and run off if he couldn't handle things? "We got two shooters leaving the hotel now," he announced. "One in a black tailored suit, no ID on the other." He lowered his voice and asked Danny, "What room?"

As he listened to Palmer's impatience with the situation, a line from a piece of music he'd once heard flashed across his mind. It made him instantly feel better. "When I am King, you will be first against the wall.." With a bright and cheery smile, Danny replied "Five. Twenty. Four. And I'm fine, thanks for askin." 

"He's in room 524," Palmer repeated loudly. "Just needs a couple minutes to get himself together." He lowered his voice and matched Danny for ironic sweetness. "I know you'll be fine," he said. Well, that was more of an educated guess, but whatever. "I also know some other people who got shot earlier, and they're not so fine.  So we need to act fast."

He bit his lip to prevent a sigh from escaping. This whole situation was bizarre and nerve wracking. No good lashing out. "Do you need anything?" he asked in a more normal tone.

But the line had already gone dead.

Upstairs, Palmer was urgently saying, "Hello? Hello?" into the phone. "Shit!" he exclaimed, slamming the phone. "Man down!" He twisted to face the room and repeated, "Man down!"

Panic flashed across his face as Sebastián turned towards Nemesis. "You have a first aid kit in that bag? I can stop time til we can get to him, give us more time to save him."

"Relax," Stone answered dismissively.  "Danny could get shot a hundred times and he'd be okay."

"Maybe," Nemesis said, pulling a black sleeveless shirt over his uniform. He paused, shrugged. "It might fool someone not paying attention," he muttered apologetically. If they're complete idiots, he mentally added. He wouldn't even have worn the thing if it wasn't armored. He continued donning his utility belt with economic efficiency. The usual assortment of pockets and pouches lined the belt, and he fitted a bandolier-style belt across one shoulder.

"Maybe," he said to Stone, "But better safe than sorry. And yeah, I got a med kit."

Turning to Nemesis, Stone suggested, "I'll head down the fast way, meet you in the middle," before heading to the balcony.  With just a brief pause to make sure nobody was looking up, the biker placed his hands on the rail and vaulted over the side to fall out of sight.

"Go," Nem said to the now-empty air.

Nemesis pulled his mask on, a match for his usual green-and-grey mask but without the green highlights. "Sebastian with me. Palmer and Vinnie, head for the lobby. We'll get Danny and meet you downstairs."

"We tailing, or escorting them back upstair?" Palmer asked over his shoulder, already headed for the door.

"Bring them up," Nemesis replied after a moment's hesitation. "We need information, and I'd rather start removing pieces from the board as early as possible."

Moving quickly from behind the bar, Sebastián walked to the door. He tried to ignore both the trepidation and anticipation that had started building.  Danny had been shot, and left for dead, and he, the playboy, was going after them.  Hoping that Stone was right about Danny, he reminded himself that this was the only way, and that everyone here had agreed to come knowing the risks.