Isn't something...

"Okay." Jason nods. "Con, you make the coffee." 

Con tosses him a smirk, but heads for the door. "Hope you like it strong." 

It would be several hours later before the four men would head out for the warehouse. By now, they knew what each of their targets looked like and what to expect by learning about the past failed takedowns by the police department. There was no doubt the crooks would be armed, and they were considered dangerous. It shouldn't be hard for the Elite team to take them down, but all knew better than to relax...

..."Con, you settled?" Jason stands with Nate inside the warehouse near one of the windows until they would take up different positions. Receiving no response, he taps his mic and whistles. "Yo, Conrad. You fall off the roof?" 

"Naw, I'm here, I'm here." Con fiddles with his earpiece, grimacing a little as he tries to get it situated. Lying on his stomach on the rooftop across from the warehouse, he takes his rifle and looks through the scope, checking out the surroundings. "Peekaboo." 

Jason squints out the window, trying to see Con's position. "Can't see you - streetlight's in the way." 

"Can't see me?"

"Nu-uh."

"Good. That means no one else will see me either." Con fiddles with his earpiece again until giving up. It would do. 

Jason sighs and is just about to converse with Dalton too, when a set of headlights appear. "Whoa, guys... we got company. Either intel was wrong or somebody likes to be early." He glances to Nate, hoping he'd tell Dalton to stand down until they had all four men here. It would be a failed mission if they didn't bring in all of them.

Trey's touch sends a light shiver down Ariel's spine and she locks eyes with him as he nears. Her cheeks grow warm and she can feel her pulse quickening. His eyes were too soft to fear. His hand too soft to flinch. The tantalizing scent of his cologne drifted in the evening air, and she felt herself leaning slightly into his palm. 

His question makes her smile as unexpected feelings flutter in her stomach. Lifting her hand, she gently places a finger over his lips, keeping him just inches away. "It would be okay," she answers him in almost a whisper. "But I'd rather save that moment for after a few more dates. A kiss isn't something I take lightly."

Still smiling, she backs away a little, letting her finger slide from his lips so she can reach up and take his hand. Giving it a squeeze, she tosses him a wink. "I expect to hear from you soon.

"Ryan!" Eli turns from the stove and lifts up a platter that had three cooked steaks on it. "Just in time." He throws Tal a look. "See? I told you she was still alive." 

Tal rolls his eyes before standing up and greeting Ryan with a kiss. "I was just a little worried, that was all." 

Eli smirks as he sets the steaks down on the table and points a finger at his sister. "You better teach this boy not to worry so much. He's gonna give himself and ulcer." Reaching over her shoulder, he snoops in one of the sacks to find the six pack she'd brought. "Ahhh... come to papa." Grinning at her, he suddenly catches something in her eye that made him lose his smile. Had she been... crying? 

"Yeah, well when all I got to do is sit around with you, it's no wonder I was anxious for her to get here," Tal retorts. 

Eli finally drops his gaze from his sister, before simply giving her shoulder a pat. He didn't know what had gone wrong where or with whom, but he wouldn't ask - not now anyway.

Is it ok

Nate looks between the two men and gaves a shake of his head at the comment. To be honest it was slightly funny when Con didn't hear something right and it just came out wrong. Though Con had his good days and his bad days everyone had gotten pretty use to his lack of hearing and compensated for it.

   "Not to early but I would like to get there at least an hour before hand."

Looking to Dalton he gives a nod leaning back on his desk and giving a quick thought. He'd need to set everything up and though one might think there was a lot there really wasn't and it might take a half hour but he'd rather have to much time than not enough.

   "Ya, that should be ok."

Giving a nod and standing up a little straighter Nate sucks in a breath for a second thinking about everything. Pretty much everything was covered, they would have to do a little more research but nothing major. It had been a while since something a little bit bigger had gone down and now that it had Nate wanted it to go smoothly as it possibly could.

   "Alright as long as an hour works with you guys than we are good to go, and I agree about the coffee."

Turning a little to look back at Ariel Trey gives a smile. He really had, had a nice time with Ariel, who would of guess a nice clean night would be his cup of tea after all. But he'd had fun and just something about Ariel that made him want to continue.

   "Thanks for the nice night Ariel."

Bringing his hand to the side of Ariel's face Trey lets his finger run over her cheek for a moment. She skin was so warm and soft he enjoyed the way it felt under his fingers. Moving a little and pulling himself in closer to Ariel he could feel his heart start to race a little more. Coming within inches of her lips Trey could feel her breath on his skin.

   "Is it ok...if...I kiss you?"

Pulling in the driveway Ryan new she was late after taking the long way home...later than she was in the first place but her eyes were try now and she'd gotten her crying out. Her emotions were...not in check but calmed for now. Her aching heart had much to think about but for the moment she just wanted to enjoy some time with her brother and boyfriend.

   "Hey Guys I'm back...sorry I'm late. I got almost all the way home before I realized I needed to go back to the store, than on my way back I took the long way. I didn't miss dinner did I?"

Chad couldn't help the smile that grew just a little bit more on his face. Having Rosalyn say she wanted the same thing it made him feel good. She was special to him, very much so and he'd stand and tell anyone that, that tried to say differently.

   "Ok, that sounds like a fair trade to me. Now how about we eat before it gets cold."

Is too

Jason looks over Nate's shoulder and shrugs. "Naw. I don't see a much better way of doing things. If we time it right with a little bit of surprise, it shouldn't be too hard of a job."

As there's a pause, Reese nods and picks up his papers. "Looks like you guys have it under control. This is your deal now - report to me after you've got those thugs locked up downtown at the station." 

Jason gives him a sloppy salute. "You got it." 

Once the four is alone, Con stifles a yawn. "I'm thinking.... coffee." 

Jason smirks. "Yeah, we don't want you falling asleep on the job."

Con turns his head towards him with a raised eyebrow. "I am not a slob, thank you."

"I didn't say slob." Jason laughs. "I was agreeing with you. I said job... we don't want you to fall asleep on the job." 

"Oh." Con gives him a sheepish grin. "Right." Standing up, he stretches before looking to Nate once more. "Well... if the showdown's at midnight, what time do you want to be down there? I'll need a few minutes to get up on that other roof, but... otherwise, I wouldn't think we'd need to be too awful early." 

The walk at the lake had been a nice ending to a very pleasant evening, and by the time Trey got Ariel back to her house, she was looking forward to crawling into bed.  It was a good kind of tired though... one that would enable her to fall asleep without much trouble, so she could get up early and head to work the next morning. As far as the evening itself had been... she'd had more fun than anticipated, and was looking forward to more like it.

Sitting a moment in the car, she turns to give Trey a soft smile. "Thanks for the evening. I had fun."

Stepping up on the porch and unlocking the door, Alec opens it wide and relieves Mackenzie of one of the grocery sacks before motioning her inside first so he could shut and lock the door behind them again. His eyes and ears remain alert though, just in case. 

Mackenzie ambles towards the kitchen, but not before throwing a glance over her shoulder. "Did you kiss her?" 

"What? No." Alec follows after her, aiming for the kitchen counter. 

"Then why did you lean clear way over on Ryan's side, hmm?" Mackenzie sets down her bags and turns to give Alec a hard stare.

Alec stares right back at her before turning his concentration to putting away the ice cream. "If you must know, all I did was give her a peck on the cheek."

Mackenzie rolls her eyes. "That is a kiss."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not.

"Is too."

"Whatever." 

Mackenzie folds her arms and waits for him to finish at the freezer. "Is she really your ex-girlfriend?" 

"Of course she is. That's what I told you, isn't it?" Alec continues to put the few other groceries away. "I made some bad choices. We broke up. She's quite happy with a new boyfriend now. End of story."

"Yeah, well, if that's the end of the story, then why did you kiss her?"

He sighs, throwing away the empty sacks. "You talk too much for a twelve-year-old." 

She gives him a crooked grin. "I've been told that a hundred times. So why did you kiss her?"

"I didn't!" Alec looks in a cupboard for a glass, even though they were right in front of him. A young kid or not... she did have a point. He hadn't kissed Ryan on the lips like he'd wanted to, but yes... yes, he'd given her a quick kiss. Turning around, he leans back on the counter and studies Mackenzie, who was still waiting for an answer. "Because I still love her. That's why." 

Mackenzie's grin widens. "So why don't you get her back?"

Alec rolls his eyes. "That... is none of your business. Come to think of it, none of this is." He gives her a shove towards the hallway. "Why don't you go get cleaned up so when Misty comes home, you're ready for supper, hmm?"

"All she had to do was stop at the store, right?" Tal glances to the door once more before hobbling back into the kitchen. 

Eli moves a steak around in the frying pan, checking it to see how close it was to being done. He'd rather grill, but this was the easier option tonight. "Yes," he answers Tal, rolling his eyes. "For the tenth time - yes!" 

"Well then where is she?" 

"She probably wanted to finish up a car or something, and I told you she had to stop at the store." 

Tal sighs and sinks down into a chair at the table. 

Eli glances over his shoulder at him. "I still don't see why you don't just call her if you're that worried." 

"Because I know you're right. And I don't want to bother her. She hates it when I get paranoid about her 'cause she can take care of herself." 

Eli grins and turns over the steak, letting it sizzle. "Then chill, bro. I'd tell you to drink a beer, but that's what she's bringing." He pokes at the meat and breathes in the aroma. "And I'll bet you that she'll come prancing through that door just in time for dinner." 

Tal snickers. "Have you ever seen Ryan prance?" 

"Yeah, when she was about ten." Eli laughs. "Okay, so when she comes barging through that door 'cause she's late... it'll be right on time for these delicious steaks."

Rosalyn's eyes lower to study Chad's hand as he held hers. He had such a strong hand, yet his touch was so tender. It made her heart flutter all over again. His words though... those made the lump rise in her throat once more. She didn't deserve someone like him, for sure. He shouldn't have to deal with her dad, or try to form a relationship long distance. Yet it made her feel so very special, she knew she would be foolish to turn down this chance at happiness. 

Finally lifting her gaze again, she manages a small smile. "I'm sorry... Maybe I just needed to hear it one more time. Or maybe I just can't believe that anybody would care enough to stick around." 

Her thumb finds its way around one of his fingers to give it a squeeze. "I do want the same thing... I'll try not to keep giving you a way out if you'll keep on telling me you want to stay."