Ross exhaled, sighing.
"I don't....fuck, I don't know. I'm glad to hear she's okay. They did what they had to do, we probably saved them a lot of trouble." Ross said, honestly and truthfully, as he sighed.

"It's wonderful." He said, sitting up as he ached a little, Seb nodding.

"It's a lot to take in. That's just for us, let alone you." Seb said, Ross nodding as he took the P226 and dechambered the round, pulling the mag out and passing it forward to Athena, before leaning back in the seat, looking up at the roof.
"You've got that right." He said, before he fell asleep.

------------

Arriving in Arizona was a strange thing to Ross, but it was the way they needed to go, and after a ridiculously long drive, they'd made it to Phoenix.

Ross looked like he'd been better, but given he was able to hobble along, using one of the walking poles that Seb and Ellie had with them on their adventures, it wasn't too bad, as he clambered out of the car, the trailer empty as he expected it to be. His contact was on his way to Phoenix, and would be here in a matter of hours, so that was good to know.

Before they entered, Ellie stopped him, and he knew that he had a lot to say.

Ross sighed, knowing his own fucked up way of doing things had led to this point in time. He wanted to tell Ellie that this was fine, but it wasn't. It was utterly, completely, fucked. What she had to say was true, and it was a very, very long story. Seb and Ellie had probbaly lost a lot of respect for him, and he wished that he could have done it any other way. But it was to protect Kimberly, the very act of escaping had probably dropped the heat on them by a significant margin, and Ross could only guess that while he wished it hadn't happened, it nearly had to if they were all going to walk away from this without someone getting killed.

"You did what you needed to....we shouldn't need help from here. Trust me, last thing I want is you getting caught up in this." Ross simply said, shaking his head, the conflict showing on his usually confident face.

"I didn't want to get you to come, but....if you hadn't have come when you did, they'd have put more resources into the hospital. They were chasing us and if they had gone in there, that's more people that could have killed my wife. They aren't hunting for something, they're clean up squads. My wife would be dead, and me, if it wasn't for you. Look, I'm sorry, but I've got a daughter who I need to look after. And this...this wasn't what I wanted." Ross said, as she leaned against the RV, holding his side.

"The lowdown of it is, you're fine. Kimberly brought me on a job, and these jobs are usually pretty straightforward, simple. We do this because we don't have sponsorship, we have a child and another on the way, and it's what we do best. Nobody but us. Same as you, really. But it looks like we got caught up in something pretty big. We were the fall guys, and it's a miracle we're not both dead. You stopped that from happening."

"The point being, Kimberly is in a critical condition and they know that I'm on the run. What's going to happen in the next 48 hours is that we're going to find the fuckers responsible and probably do some things I don't think you want to be involved in. You're living your lives to the extreme, you're the girl that always pushed it to the limit, Ellie. This isn't that. They messed with the wrong family, and you're someone close to me but...I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt." Ross said, as he sighed, knowing she still wanted an answer.

"You know, Seb is a good guy. Sees this straight for what it is. It's fucked up, but if I didn't have to do it, then I'd do something else. I suppose it's the same reason we race cars and risk it all, like you do." Ross said, knowing it was stupid, but it did need to be said, as he looked to the bullet holes, then back at Ellie.
"I don't know either. But Seb looks like he needs to know. If you want to help me, I know a way you can help, and it doesn't use guns, it doesn't use anything like that. An extra person is always useful. And I think I might know a way....we're going to need someone who's got a talent for the extraordinary. But my honest opinion is that using my head, this isn't a smart idea. It depends what your heart says, Ellie."