Packing her things inside the back of their truck, Ellie had found herself in her regular outfit. A red flannel, a pair of jeans, and a pair of cute little boots she found online. Of course, she had outfits for the contrasting heat of the Las Vegas desert. Ellie was excited for drinks and some time in a very nice hotel. The two deserved the rest. Ellie hadn't been back in her Vancouver home in a very long time. At this point, she probably should invest in a house located somewhere down south. Maybe Washington? Oregon? Somewhere that snowed.

Climbing into the passenger seat, she got ready for the seven hour drive ahead of them. Even though Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe were in the same state, over 451 miles separated the two. It took the same amount of time to get from the Bay Area to Las Vegas as it did from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe. Of course, Ellie wasn't going to be in the passenger seat the whole time. At some point she was going to switch off and Seb and do the driving there. 

The truck headed out on the long road ahead of them, and Ellie got comfortable and caught some shuteye to rest up for her leg of the trip. That was, until her phone started buzzing in her pocket. 

Waking up about halfway into her trip, she pulled out her phone and saw that dear ol' Ross was calling. Strange. They just saw each other a few days ago. What could he have wanted at this moment? Swiping on her brand new Galaxy S7, she put her phone up to her ear. Just on the first word, Ellie could tell what was up. It wasn't good, and what he said afterwards confirmed it. The hospital? What would they be doing in a hospital? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been anything positive. 

Ellie nudged Seb, "That was Ross. We need to step on it and get to eh..." Ellie soon received a text with the address of the hospital, before relaying it back to Seb. "Looks like those drinks will have to wait."

[hr]

"I got bad news for you, Ross." Maria, the combat medic, spoke up upon hearing Ross's request, "We can't move her. She's hooked up to far too many things and she's got far too many casts, braces, and all that stuff to make moving her a reasonable option. She's going to have to stay where she is. Otherwise something will fu..dge up and will probably seriously hurt Kimberly and the baby." She looked down at Mia, smiling at her, "Mia, though, we can handle very easily. She'll be far away from here and she will never ever see a gun in person. She'll be the safest two year old there is on this planet. Isn't that right, Mia?" Mia smiled back at her, before continuing to do her two year old things.

"Athena can take care of logistics and get us armed and have the ability to defend both of you. LVPD's investigation is still pending and they will not send extra units for defense tonight. The only occasion they'll send units is when they actually get here, and by then it'll be far too late." Michael said, before clearing his throat, "We'll be giving you something as well. We don't expect you to move around but we expect you to defend yourself considering that you're here, present, and coherent." The Navy SEAL warned, before the NYPD officer sighed. More hoops and loopholes she'd have to find. Nice. 

Because of this plan, the Rossi family would most likely have to move somewhere safe. Probably book themselves into a hotel and hole up there for a bit while the experienced members did their thing. However, though, the idea of Ross's associate was going to be very intriguing. A criminal, eh? Why would Ross know a criminal? Odd. But they weren't gonna question it. If it was going to ensure the safety of their family member then it was what it was.

[hr]

[right][i]A few hours later...[/i][/right]

Ellie Dorian had finally pulled arrived at the hospital they were supposed to be in. Parking was a bitch, as usual, and considering the supposed severity of the situation, she was not too happy about it. Walking in, she had to ask reception where Ross Hartley was. They were so kind as to let her know where he was once she gave her name to the receptionist. Finding her own way down the hallways, she arrived in the room and saw something that was kind of disturbing and worrying, and it was definitely nothing that she wanted to see..

Ross was there, looking like he had been through hell and back. But, what was even worse was the woman in the bed next to him. Was that... Kimberly? She couldn't tell with all the pipes through every orifice in on her face, but she was sure it was her. What the fuck had happened? Why were the both of them so injured and in this situation? Worst of all, why were there three people with guns in the room with them? What was happening? She was thoroughly confused. 

"Uh... what's happenin'?"

Michael, dressed in operator gear, had pointed to the seat next to her. "Take a seat, we've got some explaining to do." 

Ellie was a little frightened, but after the long story being summarized to her, she was more understanding of what was happening. But she wasn't understanding her role in this. Why was she brought here to this hospital to this room? It wasn't clear to her, but it was soon about to be. Athena was peering out the window, before finding three GMC Yukons, looking just like the ones that caused the incident pulling up outside. Upon further observation, armed men had poured out of the SUVs. They were coming to finish the job.

"Looks like the party's starting. Get ready." She warned, before pulling the extra pistol out of her vest and chucking it to Ross. She gestured to Maria, who also had an extra pistol. "Oh no. I don't know how to use a gun." Ellie put her hands up, afraid that she was going to have to use it, "Keep the gun pointing toward the bad guys. There." She said, before tossing the pistol to her. Ellie had caught it, taken by surprise by the sheer weight of it, before putting it in her pants as a result of a lack of alternatives. 

Athena walked over to Ross and picked him up, slinging his arm over her as she pulled out her pistol. "C'mon, we gotta get you outta here. We have quite a ways to go down to the garage."