"You don't even need a titanium bullet to kill me," Eliza shot back, trying to be smart.
"Oh, I know that," Laura responded, briskly.
Eliza seemed to think again for a moment before asking another question she had been instructed to ask. "What if he wants in? What if he wants to cooperate with you, too?"
"He won't," Laura bated. "He's too unforgiving for that. He'll tell us all to go to hell before he'll want to help."
"I don't think that's true," Eliza said, sounding a bit confused. "I know it's important to him to bring Giovani in, and I'm sure he doesn't like the mar this team of renegades of yours has left on the face of the operation. If he decides to help, will you still cooperate?"
Laura seemed to consider the question for a very long time before responding. "I'd consider it. But it would have to be on my terms. And my terms only. And I'd have to know he'd offer us sanctuary when it was over."
"Is that what you want?" Eliza asked, surprised.
"Yes," Laura answered. "Sam, Finn, and Camilla have technically done nothing wrong except for carrying a big stick. I'm the only one who swung it. They all want to re-Transform, go back to being human. I want them to be able to do that. I want to be released into my sister's custody."
"It sounds like you've talked this over," Eliza pried, hoping she could get Laura to admit this was part of the plan.
"We've talked about the possibilities of working with LIGHTS to get this done. Eliza, I'm tired. I feel like I've been homeless for twelve years. I just want this to be over. However, I'm not going home until Giovani is brought in. And Cowboy and his team want revenge on Giovani for killing his niece more than they do for any of the transgressions they have claimed against Cadence or anyone else."
Eliza pondered the response for a long moment before answering. "All right, let me think it over, talk to Daniel, my Hunter Leader, and we'll get back to you. Bottom line is, I can't authorize a hunt of that size without Aaron catching on. He's gonna want details. I can only fool him for so long, and I know he's hearing some outside chatter as well. So, be prepared for me to have to fill him in. You can decide what you want to do from there."
"Do you think you can get us our demands, Eliza? If not, we have some other options, other people who may be willing to help, and get the credit."
"You've got to be bluffing. If he's in my territory, there's no one who can..."
"Oh sure there is. Look at a map. You have borders, sweetheart, and those neighbors have leaders. I've been on here way to long. I'll call you tomorrow. Work it out, Eliza. You're more like me than you think you are. You'd have shot her, too."
Eliza pondered the remark for a second. Pushing it out of her mind, she returned to the IAC. "How did I do?" Eliza asked Aaron as soon as she had disconnected the call.
As much as Aaron didn't want to compliment her, she had surprised him. "Nice work, Eliza," he said as enthusiastically as he could under the circumstances.
"Yeah?" she asked, giggling with glee. "Thanks! Do you believe what she said about those bullets?"
"I don't believe much of what she said at all, quite frankly," he replied. "Let me think about this for a while, talk to some people, and then I'll let you know what to say before she calls you back, all right?"
"Okay," Eliza agreed. "See, I totally deserve this job."
"I'm the one who gave it to you, Eliza. You don't have to convince me," he replied. Technically, that wasn't true. He was still thinking there was a pretty good chance he would regret giving her such a large assignment, even though San Fran was probably the easiest region. So far, however, she was holding her own.
"I know. I just want to show that I've earned it," she replied, confidently.
"Keep it up, and no one will doubt it."
"Do you think she bought it?" Cowboy Sam asked in his husky voice, eyeing Laura across the table they were all sitting around.
"Yes," Laura replied sharply. The pain in her eye had begun to subside at last, but it was still very watery and irritated. Resisting the urge to rub it, she continued, "But, we all know, it really doesn't matter what I convince that twit of. If we can't get Aaron to buy in, we're done before we begin. And I'm sure he was listening."
"How do you know?" Finn asked.
Laura looked at him like he had two heads. "I think I know Aaron well enough to know when he is directing a conversation," she replied territorially.
"We wanted him listening though, right?" Camilla chimed in. "To convince him right along with her?"
"That would be the easiest way. But I think it's going to take more than a plea for sanctuary to get him to take this kind of risk," Laura reminded them.
"Oh, I don't know," Sam shrugged. "This is his chance to get all of us at once, end a lot of problems all at the same time. I think he'll do it. The problem is going to be making sure he doesn't just rely on Eliza's team. How do we get him to bring his key players?"
"Leave that part to me," Laura replied. "I can get them there."
"Well, it's unfortunate that those titanium bullets got held up in customs, but I think we've got just enough to get the job done," Cowboy Sam smirked.
Finn leaned in, elbows on the table. "If we can pull this off...it'll be epic."
Sam and Laura nodded in agreement. Camilla reminded them, "If we pull this off, forget about any type of sanctuary. Ever."
That sobered the mood a bit but not for long. "It'll be worth it," Laura replied after carefully consideration. "Completely worth it."
