Mallory spent twenty minutes using her driving skill and trade craft to finally evade the police tail, and then another ten sitting parked to make sure. They took roads Ava suggested, in their race to Nantes and the CHU (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire).

"He's going to be under guard, so how do we do this?"

"Just what are you doing?" Ava asked.

"The breakfast tray ploy." Mallory said, staring at the large facility.

"Oh swell, more sleight of hand on the lift."

"What . . .?" Ava sounded exasperated.

Mallory laid out her plan and the part each of them would play in getting Grant Duggan out of hospital custody.

"Impossible!" Ava said.

"Not if you follow the plan. Trust me, it just takes a bold approach and confidence. Morrisey and I will do the heavy work, you just do your part and we'll be on the road again before you know it."

                                                     ♟♟♟♟♟

Hôtel-Dieu, the emergency division of the huge complex, was downtown, and Mallory managed to find parking close enough for their proposed plan. They went over it once again; assuring Ava would do her part. Once inside, they did a quick surreptitious reconnaissance, locating housekeeping and the items they would need.

Grant was being held in an emergency room on the main floor, his concussion symptomized by slight dizziness and a bit of blurry vision. A young policeman sat inside the room with him, awaiting the doctor's permission to remove him to police custody. Ava attended the nurse's station at the front, raising all kinds of attention with wanting to see her husband, who had been brought in suffering gunshot wounds.

Of course, no such thing had happened, but the crowd she drew with her dramatics allowed Mallory, in a hospital doctor's smock, and Morrisey, wearing an intern's green and pushing a gurney, the opportunity to get into Grant's room.

"Bonjour? Excusez-moi, que se passe-t-il ici?" The young policeman stood up, arms out in protest.

Mallory explained in brief no nonsense terms, that they would be moving the patient to nuclear medicine for a head scan. While she dealt with the mild protests, Morrisey urged Grant onto the gurney, with a whispered threat, and wheeled him from the room. When the policeman tried to follow, he was told he could not go into that department; it was for medical staff only. They could hear the noise from the nurse's station beginning to calm, and quickly rushed to the lift and down to the garage.

Uniforms and gurney left behind, they strolled down the street, casually supporting Grant, and walked back to where Mallory had parked. When they pulled up to the front of the emergency driveway, Ava was being ushered out of the building, her rant continuing as they shooed her off, arms waving with relief.

She climbed into the car, shaking. "I was terrified."

"You were great." Mallory wheeled the Vauxhall into traffic and away from the hospital.

"I don't know what you think you're doing, Abraham." Grant spoke haltingly, his eyes squinting closed.

"Be thankful you aren't back in jail. They were going to extradite you, Grant. You would have a grand time explaining that when you got home."

"And you're rescuing me?"

"Let's just say we're delaying the inevitable." Mallory said, harshly.

"The inevitable being, you take me somewhere and kill me."

"It's what you planned for us."

Grant grunted and placed a hand on his forehead. "What about you, Ava? Can you kill your daughter's father?"

"I already tried once with the rock," she said, turning in her seat to face him, "I will do better next time." The cold look made Grant swallow.

Mallory turned into a small dirt track beside some trees and stopped the car.

"This is what's going to happen, Grant."

"No. I'll tell you what's going to happen." He sat up, glaring at the group. "First--"

The suddenness, and violence of the slap slammed Grant's already concussed head hard against the door window, and he grabbed at his cheek, staring in fright at the feral look from Ava leaning over the seat back. Her palm, still raised, was bright red from the force of the impact.

"You'll tell us nothing. You will keep your mouth shut from now on, and your associates and your wife, will be receiving DNA proof of your infidelities. You thought by killing me you could forget about the daughter you fathered? You are going home, and you are going in disgrace." The speech was delivered in a harsh growl, leaving the car's occupants all stunned into silence.

                                                       ♟♟♟♟♟

"I don't understand, Ava." Mallory reached across the table, taking her hands. "If you had that evidence, why didn't you use it to get away from him before?"

After delivering a defeated Grant back to the police and pleading international security for their actions, the two agents received their flight instructions, and when they should return for their escort to the airport. The Captain was more than angry, and his restraint seemed to almost cause himself an injury.

The group left and found a restaurant to wait and discuss plans.

"I thought what we were doing was right - important . . . the affair just happened." She sagged back, dragging her hands free. "Felix is a monster. You have no idea the things he's done, but Grant was getting leads on all kinds of criminal activities from my information; I just felt it was right, in spite of what happened."

"Why didn't you tell him about Cindy?"

"I didn't want her involved in any way - I didn't want her to know her father. I told her he had become ill and died when she was born."

"But all these years, Ava - and how did you hide the pregnancy?"

"It happened during my recruitment . . . part of his plan I can see now, except he didn't know. When I finally got together with Felix, I was just beginning to show and I told him I wanted to visit my family for a while to let them know I wouldn't be back. Felix didn't like to share, so he agreed.

"It was a lie of course. I went away to have the baby and make arrangements for her care. I made an arrangement with some sisters at a convent I attended, to care for her until I had to remove her." Ava looked away, colour rising in her cheeks. "In France it is mandatory for a child to be enrolled in school by the age of three. The fines are huge if you don't. It's why I had to involve someone to help."

Mallory perked up. "Wait, you mean you got Grant to recruit me?"

"Not you specifically. I told him I needed a handler closer to home than him, miles across the ocean. He got suspicious and poked around, learning about my daughter, and this whole mess began. He found you."

"And that's why you needed Cindy hidden away in some school."

"I couldn't put her in a school here, nobody even knew about her except my sisters at the convent. There would be questions. England was perfect, and you did a wonderful job." Ava tried a smile.

"Yeah, wonderful." Mallory glanced over at Morrisey, who just raised his eyebrows in a silent shrug.

Ava leaned forward, eyes tearing up. "I'm sorry about all the trouble, but you must understand - it was for my daughter."

"How did Grant find out?" Morrisey asked.

"I don't know - he has contacts . . ." She stared at Mallory.

"No! Not from me. I told no one, and all the arrangements were made by me personally with absolutely solid sources."

"Vladim has been watching Felix for some time," Morrisey offered. "Maybe he stumbled on something. Vladim may have learned about your daughter and just filed it away. Maybe the deal with the dossier included info for Grant."

Mallory held up a hand. "In any event, it's all academic now. With the papers I provided, you can safely and confidently make any school, and personal arrangements you wish, going forward." Her face softened, and she closed her eyes, nodding. "It's fine, Ava. Don't worry about it. We all went through a bit of a wringer and for the most part, it's over."

"What will happen to you?"

"Morrisey and I will be royally chastised, but I'm sure in the interest of everyone's reputations, it will be filed and hopefully forgotten,"

If only.