A storm is brewing…

Brenda was relieved as she left the office. She'd just concluded a very productive meeting with Jean Hubert and Lieutenant Jamie Summers, their government liaison. She had arranged to exchange the C-4 shipment they'd recovered for a sizable finder's fee, which she planned to use to make an offer on Chung's gym before the end of the year. Jean had also brokered an additional bonus—paid in advance—for one of their security teams to provide protection of future government arms shipments overseas. It should be an easy exchange. The C-4 was under heavy guard and well hidden near one of the portals. It was simply a matter of transporting it through the portal to the agreed upon location. As soon as the C-4 was delivered, Jamie would transfer the money into a secure account. With any luck, it would be a done deal within 24 hours.

With that bit of business taken care of, she had thought she could breath a little easier and look forward to the reception—once Jolene and Roxy showed up with the remaining guests. But any sense of relief she'd felt was fleeting. Two of Ellis's men were sitting at the bar—they were wearing civilian clothes but the beers in front of them were untouched and their faces looked tense and alert. No one had to tell her they were on duty or that they were armed.

As her eyes locked briefly with theirs, their unease was palpable. Mr. Wong also looked tense—she saw the reason when he jerked his head to the side to draw her attention toward the table next to the jukebox.

Her heart skipped a beat and then sank into her stomach. It wasn't unusual for Hans to send one of his henchmen in to snoop around. But he rarely came anywhere near the Crossroads himself—and he hadn't had the nerve to step foot into the bar in years. She couldn't force him to leave—the Crossroads was sanctuary for any traveler...no matter how vile—unless he violated the code. And Hans was far too smart to do that. Martin, his second, had been a regular up until he'd violated sanctuary two years ago. He was taking a risk coming in here since he could no longer claim the right of sanctuary. It was within her rights to have him removed—by any means necessary. As her last meeting with Martin flashed before her, she thanked the Goddess that Ellis was out on patrol. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.