As he'd predicted, every part of Ryan's body felt sore when he woke up the next morning. He didn't think it was bad enough to require immediate medical attention, but between all the fighting and... other strenuous activities, he figured that he'd probably set his recovery back by a few days, if not more.

Worth it, he decided.

That conclusion didn't make getting up off the sofa any easier, though.

A generous handful of aspirin helped. So did breakfast, a heaping platter of scrambled eggs and bacon that Amy had been in the middle of preparing when he finally shambled into the kitchen, still rubbing sleep from his eyes.

She'd also put a pot of coffee on, which Ryan was even more grateful for. By the time he reached the bottom of his second cup, he almost felt human again.

Five years without the stuff, he mused as he filled his mug from the carafe for a third time, and it only took a week for me to fall right back into dependency.

"Good morning, Ryan," Amy said, sliding into the seat beside his and flashing him a smile.

"It is, isn't it?" He shoveled a last forkful of eggs into his mouth before continuing. "A good morning, that is. These are great, by the way. I didn't know that you could cook."

"Psh, you can't call this cooking," she replied with a dismissive wave and a cute little blush. "But thanks."

"No, I'm the one who ought to be thanking you. After everything that happened yesterday, I feel like I could eat a horse. This really hit the spot."

"Everything that happened yesterday..." she said softly. "I still can't believe it."

"You're telling me," he replied, laughing. "Spending the night with two gorgeous ladies? I've got to be the luckiest guy on the planet."

"N-not that!" she squeaked. Her cheeks had gone pure scarlet, steam practically rising from her head. "I meant the way we took on a Zorvax Enforcer team and won!"

"Oh. Well, I suppose that was pretty unbelievable too." Ryan set down his fork, his tone growing more serious. "There's something else going on that we're missing."

"Because of how long they waited to attack?"

"That's part of it, yeah, but there are other strange aspects too. The Zorvax only sent a single team after us – and an understrength one, at that. Why would they use such a small force?"

"Understrength? A small force?" Amy repeated, her tone incredulous. "It looked pretty big to me."

"Forward Operating Command Sol-III has dozens of Enforcers that are qualified on the Mark-II Changer, Amy. I expected that we'd be facing off against a full squad of them... that we would have to wear them down over multiple engagements, using hit-and-run tactics. Instead, we got one guy, and he had his hands full playing babysitter. I don't want to say it was too easy, but..."

"Maybe they have other commitments somewhere else that are taking priority," she suggested. "You said they're trying to seize control over the whole planet, right? What if there are people other than us fighting back against them?"

"That's one possibility. Or there could be some sort of non-combat operation in progress that's eating up a lot of transporter cycles. Who knows?" He shook his head, then shrugged in resignation. "I shouldn't be complaining. A decisive win was the best possible outcome we could get, and we bought ourselves a nice breather. It's frustrating trying to make plans with incomplete data, though."

Amy grunted sympathetically.

"We'll just have to do the best that we can," she told him. "Keep chipping away at the problem until something comes loose." Rising to her feet, she collected the empty plates, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as she brushed past. "There's that list of names that you gave me to look into. I put out a lot of inquiries before I went on leave. The information I requested should be waiting for me when I go back in today."

"Are you sure going back to work is a good idea? The government –"

"No choice," she interrupted him. "We dropped eight unconscious, naked guys with no IDs off at the station last night. If I don't show up today and fill out the paperwork to charge them with trespassing or something, they'll all be out on the street by tomorrow." A thoughtful pause. "Have we decided what we're going to do about them? Even if I file charges, it's not going to hold them forever."

"I don't think we need to worry about it too much," Ryan told her, pushing himself up from the chair with a grimace. "The rank-and-file Enforcers are so brainwashed that they can barely get out of bed in the morning without orders. We took away their Changers, so the Zorvax won't have an easy time locating them, either... if they can even be bothered to try, that is. Really, the only reason I wanted to see them locked up was for their own safety, at least until we can figure out a better long-term solution –"

The panel beside the front door cut him off with a loud buzzing sound.

"Hello?" The voice coming from the speaker sounded both frightened and familiar. "Amy, hon, are you home?"

Dropping the dishes she was in the process of cleaning, Amy rushed over to the intercom.

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"Cat? What's the – hold on, I'll let you in." She jabbed the DOOR button. "Be right back," she told him, then disappeared into the hallway.

A few minutes later, she returned with company. Catalina Washington, he recalled, glancing at the familiar-looking woman that had stepped through the door behind her. She held a bulging, overstuffed suitcase clutched tightly in her arms, and Amy was carrying several more bags that must have come with her as well.

The beautiful nurse still wore the same easy smile that he remembered from before, but it seemed strained. Her hair was mussed, and her clothing, a blue t-shirt with the words BEE YOURSELF written underneath a picture of a winking cartoon bee and a pair of skinny jeans, looked rumpled and askew. There were faint bags visible under her eyes, and her gaze darted nervously around the apartment before finally settling on him.

"Nice to see you again, Cat," he said. "Can I take your bags, or get you a drink?"

"I... yes, I think a stiff drink might help." Setting down the suitcase, she blinked, then turned to look at Amy. "Oh, I'm so sorry, babe. I forgot that you don't –"

"Actually, it turns out that you're in luck," Ryan told her. Walking over to the cabinet, he opened it, then asked over his shoulder, "Cheap tequila or cheap whiskey?"

"A little early for either of those, but..." she sighed, then let out a strangled half-laugh. "I suppose I'll take the whiskey, dear. Just a finger, no ice... and a glass of water, too, if you'd be so kind?"

"Coming right up."

As he busied himself with setting out and filling cups, Amy said, "Okay, Cat, let's hear it. What happened?"

"We had some unscheduled visitors drop by the clinic last night," the woman began.

"Is that unusual?" he asked.

"Thank you, handsome," she said to Ryan. Accepting the offered glass, she tossed it back, shuddered slightly, then chased it with a sip of water. "These visitors were a little different from our ordinary clientele. They were from the government, or so they said. Black suits, sunglasses and badges, like you see in the movies..." She took a deep breath. "...and guns."

"Guns?" Amy leaned forward, her expression darkening ominously. "Did they threaten you, Cat?"

"Not in so many words." She let out a breath. "They started tearing the clinic apart, though, and they were asking so many questions. Saying they would arrest everyone if we didn't cooperate with their investigation. One kept demanding to know if I saw anything –" making an air-quotes gesture, she continued, "– unusual." Another strained laugh. "It would have taken me a week to list all the unusual things I've seen working there. Not that I told them anything, of course."

Ryan winced. Cat hadn't made any accusations, but she didn't need to. It was obvious to all of them who had been responsible for the visit.

"When I went home at the end of my shift... there were more agents waiting for me there. I asked the woman who seemed to be in charge if they had a search warrant, and she just laughed. There was a man using a Geiger counter on my sofa, and another one taking air samples in my bedroom. I have to admit, babe, I was a little scared."

"After all that, I'm..." Ryan hesitated, searching for a way to phrase the observation that wouldn't sound suspicious. "...kind of surprised they let you go."

"I don't think they intended to, love. Something strange happened that interrupted their plans, got them all up in a fuss. One cell phone call, and the next thing you know they're running around like their tails are on fire, yelling about... how did it go?" She frowned, trying to remember. "Detecting an incursion in progress? After that, they dropped what they were doing, jumped back into their cars and took off."

"Would this have been at, oh, around eleven o'clock last night, by any chance?" Ryan wondered innocently.

"Yes." Cat pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Yes, I believe that is exactly when it was. In any case, waiting for them to come back didn't strike me as a good idea, so I threw a few things together and, well, here I am."

"Cat, I'm so sorry –"

"Hon, I'm not looking for an apology," she said, cutting Amy off. "I'm sure you had your reasons for not telling me, and you know I don't like prying into other people's personal lives, but... at this point, I think you owe me an explanation, at least."

Ryan and Amy shared a glance. He raised an eyebrow, and after a long moment of consideration, she gave him a grudging nod in response.

"This information is dangerous," he warned their guest, "Really dangerous. I'm sure you guessed already, but those government agents who tossed the clinic and your house last night? They were looking for us, and they're not the only ones. There are other threats out there... threats a lot scarier than some goons in suits."

"Red pill, blue pill?" She chuckled. "Isn't that a bit of a cliche?" When his expression didn't change, her amusement faded. "You're serious."

"Very serious. Right now, you don't know anything, and – believe it or not – that's been keeping you safe so far. Once we've explained everything, it'll be too late for you to change your mind. You'll have a target on your back, the same as us. It's knowledge that could get you hurt, or even killed. This isn't a decision to make lightly."

"The burn you came in with last week..." Her gaze dropped to his bandaged side. "When I asked how you got it, you made a joke that it came from a laser gun."

"Plasma cannon," he corrected. "And I wasn't kidding."

Cat looked down, toying with the empty glass on the table in front of her. Ryan was content to let her think about the decision for as long as she wanted.

Fate, unfortunately, wasn't willing to wait so patiently.

Syd's door slammed open, making all three of them jump. The young woman emerged from her lair a moment later, dressed in nothing but a pair of lacy black panties and holding her head like her hands were the only thing preventing it from splitting open.

"Ugh, holy shit. I'm never drinking again," she loudly announced, then tottered unsteadily over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup.

"Whozat?" she mumbled, squinting groggily at the woman occupying her usual seat at the table. "Oh, it's just Cat."

Leaning back against the counter, Syd took a long sip. A second later, she jerked upright, sputtering, as her brain caught up with the situation.

"Holy shit," she wheezed between coughs, "what's Cat doing here? Wait, no, don't tell me – you finally talked Amy into recruiting her for the team? It's about time!"

Amy scowled.

Ryan cringed.

Cat... seemed interested. She looked from Syd to Amy, then from Amy to Ryan.

Her smile widened.

"I think that I'd like to hear more about this team of yours," she told him.