Moot and Ferris landed and stretched their legs.

"What's with all the media?" Ferris asked. Satellite trucks were parked around the perimeter of the hotel, impromptu setups of broadcast lights peppered the sidewalks and lawn leading to the nineteenth century behemoth of a building. Sprayed and cosmetically enhanced field reporters stood, microphones in hand, talking to no one and everyone.

"Something big must've happened..." replied Moot tensely. "CNN, NBC, Fox... national media outlets- is that Anderson Cooper?"

As their footsteps grew more urgent, they overheard words like "bomb", "explosive device", "terrorist threat". Love and Madonna stood on the grand antebellum veranda, all but lost in the swirl of ambulance chasing news outlets, attempting desperately to attract a camera lens and offer a comment. Ferris smirked at the spectacle.

He was not smiling. He was not happy. He was not alone. He was crawling, suspended, under the train carriage with a remarkably agile woman.

He did think this was the most interesting assignment he had had for as long as he could remember. First the dogs lie, then the young warrior appeared. His businessman's suit was now in tatters, his clean hands greasy, the millstone around his neck... the woman. He thought about her as he looked past his feet at the woman crawling, with him, hand over greasy hand, towards the locomotive of the train. She was keeping up with him. He was surprised. He liked her. He smiled his smile.

Natasha looked up at him and smiled back.

"Bumblers, all of them." said Rook as he lead the small group over a fence and into the grounds of the exclusive Chautauqua Institution. "They have no idea who they are looking for and why. Trust me, if Obi-Wan got out of the train, he will elude those local-yokels."

Tayanna turned to him and nodded, "That loco is following us... yes, and someone is with him...?"

"How do the dogs know there is someone with him, Tay?" Nasrin asked.

Tayanna did not know how to answer her, mostly because Tayanna knew who that someone was.

"What the... why are we slowing down?" asked Atticus. The four rushed to the window and saw the train conductors gesturing and pointing.

"We're out of here. Pack up!" replied Rook and the group made their way down the hall, now crowded with sleepy, confused passengers, rudely awoken from their pre-dawn dreams.

Tay found the nearest door and pushed the button. "Locked!" She dug a small tool from her bag and shorted the circuit. The door slid open and they jumped down and away from the train car, dogs exiting last.

From the opposite side, they watched a growing crowd gather around the coupling that joined their cabin car to the train. Suddenly, the dogs began growling, their hackles raised and fangs bared.

"The loco is nearby." said Tay after a pause. "They smell his strange smell."

"Loco?" asked Rook.

"Obi Wan." replied Atticus. "He's been tracking us. We don't know why..."

Rook cut him off. "We'll sort that out later. Now, we head due south. Up for four or five miles?" His eyes twinkled. The group set off, due south.

Chip Hunt had been with Amtrak for 17 years, with the LSL for just 5 years. As conductor jobs go, it was among the best in the northeast. Steady schedule, nice scenery, relaxed passengers. He had jobbed around the east coast with Amtrak before he got to the front of the waiting list for the Lake Shore Limited and now he was living the dream. Those crazy Boston-New York-Philly commuters gave him a headache.

He watched a couple walk between cars toward the rear of the train as he moved forward. They were not typical passengers, they were middle aged but she was heavily made up and he was strange looking for a businessman. Scruffy.

As he moved between cars a greasy lump in the coupling caught his eye. He knelt carefully in the rocking vestibule and looked closely. He saw a blinking light under the grease. Chip's blood ran cold. Chip took his radio off his belt and hit the Emergency Call Button. The US Marshall answered immediately. With-in 15 seconds the train was decelerating.

State police and the Buffalo office of the FBI greeted the train as it pulled to a stop on a spur headed toward the sleepy town of Mayville, NY.

Obi Wan crouched in the hall next to the coupling connecting the cars, mumbling and chuckling.

"Did you carefully place the charge?" a heavily accented voice behind him asked sharply.

"Yesyesyesyes..." he responded, turning slightly to gaze up at her face. "Don't worry, no one will be hurt. This will simply stop them from reaching Chautauqua and handing off the data."

Natasha nodded. "Nasrin cannot be endangered. You understand?"

"None will be in danger. Not Nasrin, not the lying dogs, not the witch..." he repeated wearily. How tiresome to work with this one, constantly second-guessing, plotting, full of subterfuge and conniving. "The train will simply stop, so the secrets remain safe."

Atheneum Hotel

Main Parlor, Atheneum Hotel

One thing was certain. The C4 charge snuggled nicely into the coupling between the private suites car and the coach seats car in front to it. He smiled as he twisted the connection between the blasting cap and the preloaded cell phone. He dusted off his palms and stood, he stepped over the coupling toward the rear of the train. He was not going to miss this for the world.

Knight walked out of the bus station in Jamestown, NY. Lucille Ball grow up here, and it looked like when she left she took everything exciting about the town with her. He slid into the seat of his rental car and adjusted his mirrors. He had to chase the Lake Shore Limited to the north. He would meet it somewhere near Lake Chautauqua if he hurried.

Moot convinced Ferris that waiting around for the action to come to them in Chicago was bunk. It was plain that the students and the thumb drive were on the Lake Shore Limited, and the perfect place for them to land the Sikorsky on the train was in a narrow, hilly stretch of track in western New York state.

Madonna finished her press conference and held her hand out for her essence of hydrangea and pomegranate cooler. She held her hand steadily in the air for 2.3 seconds as her brows lowered. She was about to point out to her assistant her failings when Courtney Love staggered into the Main Parlor of the Atheneum Hotel.

"Madonna, what are you doing here? Chautauqua tent revivals have nothing to do with Chautauqua, NY. Nothing." Love sputtered and threw an empty bottle of Champagne over her shoulder. "You are thinking of Chautauqua, Ohio." She staggered toward the dais, the press cameras flashing wildly. "What an idiot." Love gasped and fell to the floor, dead asleep.

Madonna had just finished this vital segment of publicizing her cause to promote the restoration of circus tent revivals, and was now upstaged.

Valentine pushed the gas pedal deeper into the floor and the car's speedometer blew past 90 mph. Nothing but rural wasteland as far as she could see, and the roads were practically empty as she chased the Lakeshore Limited, hoping against hope that Atticus was safely on board. She would never have agreed to allow his participation in this mission if she'd known the whole thing would fall so utterly apart. Damn those stupid, selfish women who put the whole organization - not to mention a critical mission - at risk... and for what? Vanity? Power lust? And damn Knight. Fear mixed with anxiety pushed her foot deeper toward the floorboards.

"Atticus, please, please be on that train" she murmured to herself.

She promised herself she'd tell him everything after this was over. She'd confess how young she was, how unprepared to raise a child, how much it had hurt to walk away, to pretend he didn't mean everything to her as she watched him grow from a maddening distance. She had to watch over him, to protect him from a now uncertain future.

He smiled a little. He liked C4 explosive. It smelled funny but it does so much damage to people and property with so little effort and volume. Combine C4 with 650 tons of moving metal, like a passenger train, and one gets a good deal of bang for one's buck. One thing that was kind of a drawback was the blasting cap. And the funny smell. The smell that dogs could smell. Anywhere.
C4, or the common plasticized explosive stable enough to carry around in one's pocket, needed a impact AND heat to cause its ignition to accelerate exponentially. Otherwise it just burned like plastic, or when impacted, did nothing at all.

Carrying it around in his pocket all time did burn the skin on his leg sometimes, like when the zip lock bag melted or if the duct tape ripped the bag open.

All the C4 he had ever had used had a taggant added to it. All the C4 in the world, or as far as he knew, had a taggant added to it. It was a law or something. That is what the dogs could smell. Even when he wrapped it up will 6 layers of plastic, dogs could smell it.

If the talking dogs could lie, he could hide from their minds. Still, until dogs could verbalize that here was explosive nearby, he didn't care so much. He liked what the C4 could do. he fingered the two blasting caps he stole from the maintenance shed under Grand Central. He smiled.

"Moot", said Ferris. "You have to tell me where you think things are lining up. Who's taking sides with whom?"

There was a long lull as the lunch crowd cleared out, leaving the waitresses clustered in the back tallying their take. Moot drew a deep breath and began.

"My guess? Madonna's fighting Love for control. That much seems clear. Franken and Chapelle will happily go with whomever wins- they don't have loyalties and just want to keep their seats at the table. What I'm really concerned with, though..." he glanced around, scanning for familiar faces, "...is Knight. He could either upend the whole enterprise if he doesn't want either of them to win the day- which I think is likely." Moot lowered his voice further, to just above a whisper. "Or, he might see this as his big chance, and be angling for a coup that would put him in charge."

"I have a feeling we'll have to choose sides very soon." replied Ferris. "Who's side are you on?"

After a long pause, Moot said, "I'm inclined to bet against the odds and choose Knight. Not only are both Madonna and Love in the game for vanity, but they don't care about, nor do they even grasp what we do. Plus, frankly, I have nothing to lose... You, on the other hand...?"

Ferris demurred. "Another big question: will Valentine go with Knight?"

"That," said Moot "remains to be seen. Your guess is as good as mine. Ready to hit the road?" They paid their check and climbed into the rental car parked outside.

The train trundled through the yards out of Manhattan as the group reunited in the suite. The xolos, unsurprised by Rook, jumped on him and drove him onto the bench seat in the private suite. Nasrin asked, "Rook, what are you doing here, why have you made yourself known now?" Rook gently pushed the dogs away. "The situation has changed. I am here to bring you an updated 'walking' status. Your passports, ID's, all materiel have been compromised."
Atticus blanched, "No way! Valentine gave me these herself, no way would she give us bogus materiel."
Rook paused, "I am not telling you that Valentine is compromised, but I am not telling you she is not."

Knight looked up from his laptop. He gazed out the dirty window of the westbound Trailways bus at the Ohio farmland. He hated 'walking' missions. Food was bad, travel was slow, sleep was nearly nonexistent. Communication was unreliable. 'Walking' missions meant using code and conventional communications. That meant a cell phone with a barely serviceable encryption. He could speak to no one, Rook, Valentine, Obi Wan, even Love was unreachable while he was in this rural dead-zone.

He smiled his smile. This was turning out to be a very interesting assignment. First the lying dogs, then Valentine herself to pass the materiel to the subjects, now Rook appeared. Yes, yes, this was almost fun. He smiled his smile as he walked past the suite with the group inside, unaware. He smiled, this was almost a challenge.

Nasrin and Tay made their way down the narrow walkway to their suite led by the xolos, perfectly playing their service dog parts. Once inside the suite, they waited anxiously for Atticus.

"It's five minutes until departure..." said Nasrin anxiously. "I'm going to find him."

Tay opened her mouth to object but was interrupted by a light tap on their cabin door. Nasrin stood and slowly turned the nob. To their astonishment, Rook stood before them.

"Good morning." A hint of smile at their surprise turned the corner of his lips. He glanced around the cabin. "Where's Atticus?"

"He's patrolling, but should have come back by now."

Rook frowned. "Sit tight."

He bolted from the train. On the platform, he looked right, then left and felt for his sidearm. The platform was nearly deserted now, save for a few members of the train crew. "Where is he?" he mumbled to himself. Atticus had to be on that train when it pulled out. He moved toward the restrooms. Where else could he possibly be?

The door hung ajar. Rook watched as a well dressed figure, his back to Rook, talked softly to Atticus, whose face had frozen. "Obi Wan!" he thought. Obi Wan moved closer to Atticus and reached into his pocket. Rook suddenly swung the door open.
As Obi Wan whirled around, Atticus seized the moment, bringing him to the ground with one swift, decisive strike.

"Rook! What are you doing here?"

"No time- we have to make this train. C'mon!"

He leapt over the prone, mumbling Obi Wan and they sprinted together toward the train, which was just starting to roll out of Penn Station. They grabbed the door rail and pulled themselves on.

He smiled his smile as he watched them separate. Atticus is the one who would be the leader. Yes, that was right. The one that was the easiest to take away, however. He followed the boy through the crowds easily. He was tall and proud in his youth.

Really they all would be easy to follow if they kept using the materials that were provided by MASK. This part of the assignment was not as interesting as the talking dogs. The talking, lying dogs. Dogs can lie. He liked learning.

Ah, there was a mistake. The boy has walked into a corridor with only two exits. Should he separate them now? No, that was not as much fun as watching them.

He walked into the mens' room and shut himself in a stall. He would choose proper business attire for this next leg of the journey.

In less than 2 minutes he leaned down to tie the lace of his wing-tip. He had shaved and looked nearly presentable. The opened the stall door to see the boy, Atticus standing at the sinks.

He smiled his smile. Maybe it was time to separate the little group. He washed his hands in the sink next to the boy and smiled his smile. He look at his nearly presentable self. Yes, it was time.

The hounds suddenly grew edgy, intently sniffing the air. Tay noticed that the hair on their backs had bristled. She then felt the loco's voice trying to penetrate her mind with his words.

"Loco is trying to communicate with me."

"Can you tell where he is?" asked Atticus.

"He's not making much sense..." Fiel growled. The train pulled in to the cavernous tunnel, slowed, then stopped.

"You two get on board. I'm going to look around."

Tay gave Atticus a worried look, then reached in her small pouch and handed him a small vial. "This will disable him quickly." Nasrin, Tay, and the dogs boarded, glancing uneasily over their shoulders. Atticus sunk into the shadows at the edge of the end of the platform and watched, silently, carefully.

The cab screeched to a halt at Penn Station. Three students and two "assistance dogs" entered through the 33rd street entrance. Tayanna held El Sombre loosely by his harness as she kept an eye on Fiel in Nasrin's hands. The xolo kept turning to look a Tay then back at Nasrin, calm but concerned. The group made its way toward the ticket window selling tickets on the Lakeshore Limited. Atticus led the two women and their guide dogs to a few feet from the ticket window. He collected their MASK provided passports identifying them as citizens of Uruguay. The ticket agent cast a jaundiced eye over the trio then remembered his coffee break and sold them their 1st class tickets. Paid in cash.

Atticus led them then to their platform to wait for boarding.

It was getting late. Nasrin flagged a cab. "Penn Station".

She turned to Atticus and Tay and explained. "From there we can grab a Lakeshore Limited to Union Station. Should be an easy trip. You've both got your special IDs, right?"

All MASK students had been equipped with several equally convincing identities from which to choose. They each sank into their own thoughts.

Tay turned to Atticus. "Why do you think Valentine was sent? And what is on that data drive that is so critical?"

Atticus shook his head slowly and said "I wondered the same thing. Why would they send Valentine to carry out such a basic job? Not only that, but why didn't she take the drive back to MASK HQ? Why did she leave it with us? Is this some kind of test? And are we the ones being tested or are we pawns?"

Atticus glanced in the driver's rear view mirror repeatedly, expecting Obi Wan to appear yet again as the Manhattan skyline came into view.

Ferris walked into Miller's Pub and wrinkled her nose at wafting stale beer and crooning Jerry Vale over the din of conversation. She saw Moot at a table along the wall near the stairs. He was hunched over a burger and did not notice her until she sat down. She watched him chew as he watched her. When he finished chewing and wiped his mouth she said, "How can you eat in a place like this?" Her shoes were sticking to the floor.

"This is a heluva burger, an institution in the loop. Wanna bite?"

She smiled despite herself. He was the same as when she met him in Apon, months ago, irascible and direct. He might be in the fight of his career but she knew he was still several steps ahead of anyone at MASK, or she hoped.

She said, "Knight has not been in the Monadnock for 3 weeks. His swipe card and his terminal have been inactive. He has been logging on remotely, possibly from US or Europe, judging by the speed of his network. But he could be in some parts of Asia..."

Moot looked incredulous.

"I have a few allies in I.T." Ferris smiled

"I knew you were a good recruit since we flushed out that warren of FBI corruption. Well, that information does little to narrow down his location."

Ferris held up her hand, "I think this might." She held a copied receipt in her hand.

"Dated yesterday. There is no location on this, in fact I have never seen a receipt written.. is this lead pencil? What is this? Where is it from, what does it say?"

"He brought Fassnacht Kuche." Ferris said with a smile, "It is a square doughnut made by Amish. He is in western Pennsylvania or eastern Ohio. I also have allies in accounting. He submitted his expense report."

Atticus tried unsuccessfully to conceal his surprise at seeing one of MASK's leadership carrying out what he was sure had to be a fairly low-level task. Why Valentine? he wondered to himself. Her eyes were laughing at his surprise from behind her thick makeup veneer. She pulled out a bulging plain, white, business-sized envelope folded precisely in half from her inside jacket pocket. Cash! he thought, relieved. "Your next leg of the journey will require tremendous resourcefulness and quick thinking. You are to proceed back to Chicago to deliver the data drive you retrieved. How you get there will be entirely up to you. However, you must avoid being identified at all costs. The data is mission-critical information- I cannot emphasize this enough." Valentine paused. "Good luck," she said softly, her heart in her throat, as she watched him walk away.

She ducked behind the newsstand counter and pulled a sleek tablet from her grimy tote bag, a well-worn bit of swag from forgotten pharmaceutical conference, selected especially for her current persona. She slid her finger and tapped. "They just left." she said as soon as Knight's face appeared on the screen. "Please don't worry." Knight replied, "They're the best we have. They'll pull this off. In their case, innocence is bliss." The screen went dark. Valentine tried not to think about how much was riding on the three.

Bayonne bus terminal

View Larger Map

It was nightfall at the Bayonne bus terminal. Mercury lights cast a corrupt glow on the gleaming chrome of the buses in the loading lot. Tayanna and Nasrin watched as Atticus walked through the side door. They turned and looked at each other. Tay gazed at the two xolos as they melted into the shadows to patrol.

Atticus softened his spine and lowered the angle of his head as he tried to blend in to the modest crowd of travelers. He looked to the left of the security check point where his contact was supposed to be waiting at the newsstand. He had been elected by the group to gather the travel stipend and information there. He saw no one but an elderly woman behind the counter, head in hand, yawning through a modest goatee. He sidled passed her and feigned interest in the current issue of Maxim.

"Boy, you will have to show me proof of age if you want to look at that." The crone spoke with an accent so thick it was hard to understand her. Atticus reddened. She stared at him and shook her head. "You are too young to be here." Atticus paled. The woman laughed. "Atticus, you came to meet me. I will tell you where and how the next leg of your odyssey will transpire." Atticus looked under the make-up and facial hair and recognized Faye Valentine, his chem-lab teacher.

Moot looked long and hard at Ferris. He had lost any appetite for keeping his cards close. He needed someone to trust, someone he could turn to. He had to risk this to forge an alliance. The heat rose up from the sidewalks and the city's traffic din lulled during the long moment of silence between them. She waited expectantly, her eyes locked on him.

"Something's rotten in MASK" he said finally. "I'm not sure exactly who - or what - is behind it- yet." Ferris' expression registered no surprise.

"I'm afraid that it goes all the way to the top. And MASK operatives are being thrown under the bus to serve as cover." Ferris knew she could trust what Moot said because he was so clearly being marked for elimination. He had nothing to gain from lying to her. She wasn't so sure about the others.

"Who do you think can be trusted? Knight? Rook? Valentine?" He noted her intentional omission of MASK CEO Love, and of Franken and Chapelle.

"Where Knight goes, so goes Rook. Valentine, I'm not so sure... did you know that Knight hasn't been seen for over a week? We've been communicating remotely- I'm not sure where he is- are you?"

"Let me see what I can find out." Ferris replied. "Let's meet for drinks at 5."

He was no longer smiling. The girl who talked to the dogs was silent. He was puzzled. But he had the dogs to talk to. He could hear them.

Their voices loud enough but listening to them was like hearing an unfamiliar voice, saying words that were hard to understand. This is how it was for him, with dogs. But people he listened to were easy to understand.

There he is! He saw the big male, there, and now he is gone. He ran into the high reeds. But he could still hear him, and the female. They were scouting for the best route to...

That was odd, instead of walking to the bus station they were heading farther into the marsh. They were walking on to a peninsula, trapped. Easy to follow now. Ah, yes. He could just see it. A boat. The big male was thinking about a boat. They had a boat waiting for them. He laughed. The little grey female was thinking of the boat now too. She was looking at the water but there was no boat yet. Neither of the dogs liked boats, he could see that. And they were out of land.

He smiled, at last he would be able to talk to all of them at once. He was not afraid of the dogs. Nor was he afraid of the students, children really. He would make them understand things. He had to. Understand things his way.

He could see water on both sides of him now, ahead sky through the trees. Just through this copse of scrubby brush and he would be at the end of the finger of land.

And so would the little group. Atticus,the tall young man, a fast thinker from what he could see. Nasrin, adept and capable, she might have been the most formidable if she had a few years to mature. And Tayanna, and her dogs, she was wild and unpredictable, he would watch her.

He smiled as he stepped out into the clearing.

He was surprised. This was not what he expected at all.

Twenty feet in front of him the two dogs lay their backs to the water. Ears forward, eyes gleaming, they were waiting for him. But there was no one else. He looked quickly to his right and left, then back at the dogs. They were still focused on him. No one else was there. Slowly the dogs stood. The big male's mouth opened slightly, as if he was smiling. Then quick as lightening both dogs darted to either side of him and were gone. That fast. He frowned. Can dogs lie?

Slowly he smiled. His assignment was now interesting.

"You know that Obi Wan follows us, no?" Nasrin and Atticus could barely conceal their shock at Tayanna's question. "Are you sure?" Nasrin asked.

"Oh, yes. He told me he is coming. He tries to listen to me, but I don't always let him. And he talks to the xolos- or, he tries to talk to them" Tayanna corrected herself.

"How in hell did he get here?" asked Atticus. " We took off from Brooklyn just 10 minutes ago."

"We have to shake him, and fast" Nasrin continued.

"I have thought of that, Nasrin," Tayanna explained.

Atticus pivoted and noticed to his amazement that the two hounds were nowhere to be seen.

Fiel circled silently behind the hated one. She thought only the thoughts the alpha had instructed her to think. El Sombre stood ahead, at the fork in the road until he was within eyeshot of the hated one. He too, thought only those thoughts. They heard the hated one's jumbled thoughts, full of nightmares, chattering on, but the hounds had learned to ignore such things and only pay attention to the alpha. As planned, the hated one followed el Sombre down the left fork.

He was smiling. He liked to see fire in the sky. That model Sikorsky was over-rated anyway. The explosion was timed well, but not perfectly. He tossed the radio remote over his shoulder into a deep water of Bayonne's Upper Bay. It was heavy and MASK had a steady supply, he could always get more. He looked north where the dogs and the girl who talked to the dogs were. He liked talking to the dogs. That they heard him interested him. The dogs hated him of course. Anything that could talk to him did. Since escaping from the camp in Mexico he heard the inner voices of some animals and a human or two. His brother, Seamus, heard the animals voices too. Seamus stayed in Mexico and until a few months ago he heard his brother's inner voice in his head late at night. He didn't hear Seamus any more. Thinking about the drugs they gave him and his brother in the camp in Mexico still made him shiver in his brain. He frowned. But seeing the fire in the sky made him smile. He watched the smoke dissipate in the darkening sky. He smiled as he started to walk towards the Bus Terminal.

Jackson Moot's heart sunk as the Sikorski's geo-location device marker suddenly disappeared from his screen. "What the f*&#k just happened?" he murmured under his breath. The phone rang. "The Sikorski just blew up" Ferris stated abruptly. "What happened? Knight needed it to be redeployed at three..." "Wish I knew. It was thoroughly checked out yesterday." "I'm coming over." Three minutes later Ferris stood in Moot's office at MASK HQ. "I can't afford another screw up." Moot said glumly, shaking his head. "That's the least of it- we don't know for sure whether our personnel were on board when it blew- and now we've lost their signals too." They exchanged uneasy glances. "Let's take a walk" said Ferris suddenly. As they strolled down the crowded, noisy sidewalk, Ferris asked, "I think we can speak frankly out here. Do you think this was an accident? If not, can you think why anybody would want that copter downed?"

They picked themselves up, brushed off the charred remains of the Sikorski and checked to make sure they and the Xolos were okay. "Should we even pick up the stipend?" Atticus asked. "We might be traced..." "Let's find out" replied Nasrin. "Maybe there's some cash- we could exchange it." She pulled out her cell phone and GPS and powered them down. "I suggest you do the same. We'll grab new SIM cards later." They walked in the general direction of the Bayonne bus terminal in silence still uneasy by what they had just witnessed.

The three watched as the copter lifted into the cloudless sky. "Something's wrong" said Atticus, as he noticed a sudden uncontrolled jerkiness in the Sikorski's motion. It suddenly began spinning chaotically, horribly out of control. "RUN!" he cried, and as the group sprinted full-tilt toward a nearby deserted road, the copter erupted in a ball of fire, shrapnel hurtling in all directions. The group fell to the ground, heads covered, Tay and Nasrin holding the hounds to protect them. "Are we all OK?" Atticus asked as the three lifted their heads and exchanged worried, silent expressions.

View Larger Map

As if to answer Tayanna the Silkorsky began to descend towards the marshes of New Jersey. Knight explained " The Sikorsky is needed in Washington, your mission has become 2nd priority. You will proceed to Bayonne bus terminal where you will be instructed where to find your stipend. The means by which you travel is your prerogative. Check in and you will be instructed where to find your next stipend. Good luck." The helicopter landed in an isolated marshy plain. "C'mon, " Atticus said, "I spotted a road to the west, we can walk there and reconnoiter before night closes in." The trio and dogs exited, the helicopter powered up and flew off.

As the pilot-less Sikorsky banked west all eyes were on Obi Wan. He stood on the macadam outside the main entrance of the burning restaurant. Show girls, wait and kitchen staff filed out past him. Nasrin's noticed Natasha walking with several show girls. She sighed with relief. Just as quickly her heart leapt into her throat as she saw Natasha walk directly to Obi Wan. The helicopter banked away as Nasrin craned her neck. The communication monitor crackled to life and Knight's face appeared to the students. "Good work, all. You now have the information we want. It is too sensitive to be emailed and factions within MASK have made transmission on our encrypted delivery system impossible. You three will have to walk the drive to the Monadnock Building." Tayanna wondered why they would walk. "'Walked' means we can take any local transportation that does not require x-ray or metal detection check points, so flying commercially is out." Atticus whispered to her. "What is wrong with this helicopter?"

Just as Natasha was going to speak, the two were interrupted by shouts punctuated by gunfire. Nasrin swept Natasha toward the door and cracked it open. "Wait in here- you'll be safe!" she hissed as she burst from the room, rolling toward the cover of a stack of tables and chairs. The darkened club was filled with smoke and sparks of gunfire. Nasrin's eyes locked on Atticus and Tay, concealed near the exit. She signaled them. Atticus lobbed a small black container into the space which immediately exploded, emitting a ball of thick acrid smoke. Nasrin ran toward the exit and threw herself outside after Tay and Atticus. The three sprinted out, Fiel and el Sombre at their heels. The helicopter engine fired as they climbed in, and immediately lifted off. "Did you get the data?" Atticus shouted. Nasrin opened her palm, revealing the drive. "Who was the target?" she asked. "Gang shooting- the club owner was the mark." Tayanna stopped. "Look!" There, beneath them, looking up, stood Obi Wan.

“I came here to look for work. I was lured here under false pretences by some men. Luckily, I didn’t have to do business with them and was able to find work on my own. After only a few months of being here, I met these nice Russians, and they hired me on as a showgirl.” “What are you doing here?” Nasrin thought pensively for a moment and told Natasha that she was there to pick up a file for her boss. She quickly filled her in on how her life was living with Madonna and how she started MASK and was living in Chicago now. “How long have you been here in New York? Are you going to be a showgirl forever? Can I get your number so I can call you? I have to go soon, but I don’t want to part without staying in touch.” Natasha reached across and turned the hand dryer on in the bathroom. Nasrin gave her a strange look and Natasha put her finger to lips motioning for Nasrin to remain silent.

Nasrin's head swirled as she was instantly transported to that moment of parting. She felt as if it were yesterday her own tears stinging her eyes, the threat of imminent danger of being captured by the Taliban, the sobs of Natasha, the only mother she'd known... In that moment she'd stood on the threshold of utter and complete transformation- into, and then out of, the seductive but empty life of privilege and celebrity, adopted by a stranger, a woman she'd never loved. A life she'd now escaped through MASK. Her Natasha, now standing in front of her, a face she thought she'd never see again. They fell into each others' arms. "But how- how are you here?" Nasrin stuttered.

"Please let me through. Please, ladies, I need to get out of here," Nasrin shouted in her most formal Russian. No one appeared to notice the young lady. Nasrin stopped. She heard a distinct voice from her past. "Nasrin? Nas-onka? Is that you, is that my Nas-onka? Oh, my yusuhka! Look at you! Look at you all grown up!" Nasrin ,flash drive forgotten in her fist,stood amid the towering Russian dancers unable to see just few feet in front of her. She peered into a sea of colored sequins, theatrical make-up, and feathered head-dresses. "Natasha?" She heard herself whisper. Her mind traveled back to Tashkent in 2005. She was crying for her adopted mother. She was saying good-bye in the dusty airport and boarding a private jet. Natasha was dressed in a gray dress with an embroidered brown jacket. "It is for the best, you need to go with the Madonna.In America you will have a wonderful life." "Natasha? Is that you?" Nasrin said. "Yes, Nas-onka, it is me." The dancing girls parted and Nasrin faced Natasha, dressed in the brightest sequins and feathers in the group of dancers.

As they walked toward the exit, Nasrin whispered to Atticus, "They now think I believe their nonsense. That drive- it's a trap." Atticus' stride paused imperceptibly, then continued. "it contains a tracking device. Go to Tay and I'll get the real device." Atticus should have known Nasrin was no fool. She veered toward the ladies' room as he made for the exit where Tay awaited them. "We were followed, but I have taken care of him" she reported and gestured toward the slumbering Obi Wan. He slipped the data drive into Obi Wan's pocket.

Nasrin entered the first stall, locked the door, and felt behind the cold porcelain tank. Taped there, in the narrow crevice between it and the wall, her fingers found a data drive, extracted it carefully, and slipped it into her back pocket. She flushed, then walked toward the mirror. A cluster of chattering showgirls suddenly entered, blocking her exit. She became momentarily tangled in a mass of feathers, cheap perfume, and Russian gossip.

Tay stood near the entrance of the Restaurant Tatianna wondering why it was taking Atticus and Nasrin so long. Meanwhile back in the restaurant, Atticus was being kissed by Nadya, a show girl. Nadya rubbed Atticus’ head and petted him like a dog. “You are so cute, I could just eat you up,” purred Nadya. Atticus looked to Nasrin for help him but she was talking to Natasha, a waitress. A booming Russian voice sprang up behind him. “Vat are you doing vith my vife?” Atticus jumped at the sound and turned to see the Russian who he had initially spoken with. “I-I-I…” “Oh Dahhhling,” purred Nadya, “Isn’t he just adorable? I wish we had one.” Atticus stood there in disbelief. Nadya was talking about him as if he were a pet or a piece of furniture. “Please Nadya. Not now. We’ve been over this. Please leave this boy alone and get ready for your performance tonight.” The Russian put a flash drive in Atticus’ hand and walked away with his wife. Atticus sighed with relief and looked for Nasrin. “Atticus, Natasha said she can see into the future. She’s been reading my palm.” “Really? And what has she been telling you, this almighty sage?” Natasha turned to Atticus, “Ah, I see ve have a disbeliever. That is okay. But please hear me out…there is trouble awaiting you in the near future. I see a man who is greasy and smells of diesel. I vould stay avay from this man. He is no good.” Atticus looked at Natasha like a parent trying to placate a small child. “Yeah, yeah, very good. Thank you, but we really must be going.” Atticus pulled Nasrin’s arm and headed towards the entrance. “Atticus wait….” “No, Nasrin. Now.”

"Why is the smelly evil one here?" thought Fiel, and glanced at el Sombre, their eyes meeting then aiming up at Tay. "I knew I'd seen him before! We must corner him." El Sombre trotted toward the courtyard entrance, then slipped behind the hedge and circled silently back toward their target. Tay and Fiel sauntered casually in the opposite direction. Tay reached into her small bag and located a tiny, powder-filled package, which she pulled noiselessly between her fingers and into the palm of her hand. She loosened the string with one hand and closed in on the target. He sat, strumming the guitar, pretending not to stare. Fiel emerged from the hedge and began suddenly barking loudly at him, baring her teeth. The diversion gave Tay cover to open the package and empty its contents of fine-grained dust toward his face and disappear back into the courtyard, and toward the club entrance, both Fiel and el Sombre at her heels. In a matter of seconds the powder did the trick. He sat fast asleep, guitar in his lap.

Tay let her dogs and herself out into the little courtyard that served as a beer garden in the summer months. Fiel led her brother in exploring every corner of the oblong area. Tay watched three tall, willowy women who cheerfully returned the dog greeting sniffs with giggles and excited peels of Russian exclamation. The xolos politely accepted pets and caresses. Tay smiled as the show girls walked past her. It was then she saw the bent little man with his guitar sitting on the boardwalk by the gate to the beer garden staring at her with eyes like coals. His hair was matted and greasy, his skin was wrinkled and tan. El Sombre sensed her fear and padded to the edge of the courtyard, Fiel watched him and returned to Tayanna's side. The man smiled at Tay and whistled in a burst. El Sombre knelt on the ground and Fiel began to whine. The wind changed and Tayanna smelled diesel fuel and cigarettes.

In the noise and heat of the dining room Atticus cleared his throat. Nasrin had struck up a conversation with a waitress while she prepared her station for the dinner crowd. Atticus was annoyed, the conversation was in Russian. He looked up at the staircase where the tattooed man had climbed after instructing the pair to wait. Tay was outside and Nasrin started to follow the waitress around. He wanted his team together. The restaurant began to fill with performers, staff and customers, all hugging and shouting at each other, in Russian. Just as he decided to follow Nasrin into the dining-room a striking blond, dressed in a skin tight suit barbed with feathers and sequins blocked his way. The showgirl smiled at him and put her arm around his shoulders and started to whisper Russian nothings into his ear. Atticus felt his face redden as she kissed his cheek. He wanted to fade into the wallpaper.

The three students and the two Xolos landed on Restaurant Tatianna and descended down the iron fire escape. They got to the alley and walked around to the front door. As they walked inside, the smell of vodka and Borscht filled the air. As their eyes adjusted to the dimness of the restaurant, they realized they were inside a gold and amber entombed room. There were sconces on the wall that held candles, and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling were so dimly lit, that the candles gave off more light. The restaurant was empty except one man sitting in a back booth against the wall. He was tall with light brown, just starting to gray, hair. It was slicked back to show his slightly receding hairline. He was slightly built, but muscular. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt, unbuttoned, that showed Russian prison tattoos covered his chest, hands, and neck. The man looked at them as the three walked further into the restaurant. “No Dogs allowed,” said the man with a thick Russian accent. Tay looked at him and replied, “Where I go, the dogs go.” “Then you vill have to vait outside.” Tay shrugged her shoulders, looked at the other two, and sauntered outside with her Xolos. Nasrin and Atticus started to get a little uncomfortable. Nasrin spoke to the man. “We are here to pick up a data drive. Courtney Love sent us.” As Nasrin and Atticus were inside getting what they came for, Tay was running into a bit of trouble on the outside.