Eleanor watched Liam Gallagher pull up in the driveway and walk up to the door. She hurried back to her seat, cradled her glass and waited for him to enter the house. He sat across from her, interlaced his fingers and placed both hands on his stomach. When she saw that Liam made no move to speak first, Eleanor took the initiative.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Something strong will do. While I know how much you enjoy my company, that's obviously not the reason why you invited me today," Liam said tersely.

"Mi Casa Su Casa," Eleanor replied, casually pointing to the kitchen. Liam helped himself to a cold beer and returned to his seat. He noted the slight uneasiness in Eleanor's features and after a long sip of his drink, Liam set his drink down.

"Is everything alright? You are unusually quiet for someone who really wanted to talk."

Eleanor had been debating on whether to loop him into her crazy plan but decided against it every time. If everything went to shit, which was the most likely scenario, nobody outside of her should suffer the consequences of her actions. The weight of what she was planning to do felt like the world was placed squarely on her shoulders.

"How is Rachael doing?" asked Eleanor in between sips of her drink.

"She's doing well. Her condition is stable but I honestly don't how it will last before she deteriorates."

"And what's the situation with that bas... I mean our 'benevolent' benefactor Leon Truss?" queried Eleanor, not hiding her obvious displeasure.

"You were totally going for something else, were you?" Liam said, bursting into laughter. "Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on who you ask, he's stable too. Apart from bringing his own medical team, the man has closed off the entire fifth floor. We had to move some people around to make room and now we have ten pissed off patients to pacify. In my humble opinion, the logistical nightmare is slowly outweighing the expected benefits."

Eleanor sat back, taking in all that she had been told. Choosing her next words carefully, she asked, "Given that he is pumping eight-figure amounts into the hospital itself, it would have been surprising if he did not take these liberties. Is it correct to assume that he brought his own security?"

"How on Earth did you. . ." replied Liam with a shocked look etched all over his face.

"It comes with the territory when you have that kind of money and if the guy is the type to bring his own doctors to a hospital, his security team is only a hop and a skip away."

Mission impossible just became a lot more impossible. Eleanor hoped against hope that it wouldn't be the case but her gut instinct turned out to be correct. With her odds tumbling towards zero, maybe it was time to call it quits.

"I know hearing all this must make you angry but please tell me that you'll let this go when you get back on the job?"

"I don't think that I can do that," said Eleanor, furrowing her brow.

"Look, I understand your frustration but there is nothing we can do. The procedure is in three days. Barring divine intervention, this is only ending one way."

That's what you think. I know another way it could end.

"Fine, I'll try to play ball but I can't make any promises," replied Eleanor, sipping on her drink while glaring at Liam.

"What the hell did I do?" barked Liam.

"You brought me back to reality."