[Elsie Crane]

She did not speak, nor did she nod, she merely looked into Isla's eyes and confirmed everything the woman had just deduced. Caring for Isla was a precarious ordeal at best, an unmanageable nightmare at worst. Leaving Isla unaware that she was being cared for, had made things easier.

"Please sit," she recommended.

[Isla Fields]

"I won't," She shot back, sounding very much like the teenager that used to spend long days reading on Elsie's deck, the older woman's fingers tangled in her thin blonde hair.

Arms crossed in defiance, she glared at Elsie, "Tell me what you know Sloane."

[Elsie Crane]

Legs folding at the ankles she sighed as she smoothed a wrinkle on her skirt. She linked her hands on her knee and cleared her throat. "June 5th at 1505, Agent McKinney was in a convoy traveling from Bagdhad to Basrah. The convoy was the victim of an ambush. The 3 military vehicles ran into a barrage of explosives. While the vehicles were found as were the bodies of its occupants, Agent McKinney was not found."

Elsie paused briefly, licked her lips, and continued. "This is the information you will find tomorrow when you pull the strings you intend on pulling. If I share the rest of what I know, you need to understand that you are far beyond breaking the rules you set for yourself when you disclosed your relationship to Agent McKinney." Elsie shot a brief glance at Emilie. Not to mention that the young girl would hear things she did not have the security clearance to hear, but Elsie trusted Isla to decide if the young girl could be trusted.

[Isla Fields]

Nails digging into her arms as Elsie spoke, the only physical reaction to her words, Isla stared straight at the drifter, lips thin and and brows low as she glared at the woman.

"I--" She stopped, turning to look the redhead who was staring at them with wide, watery eyes. "Emily," Isla spoke, "if you don't want to put yourself and your career in jeopardy, you should leave." She nodded to the fireplace and then turned back to Sloane, "but I want to know everything, and I mean everything."

[Emily Price]

Almost flinching when Isla said her name, having thought the woman had forgotten she was there entirely, "Oh no I--I want to stay. Alex is my best friend...family and I can't just go back to work and pretend like-like--" Emily broke off as she felt a sob building in her throat. She went to take a sip of her drink only to realize she had finished it. She swallowed and shook her head, "No, I want to stay."

[Elsie Crane]

Elsie did not hold back. She shared everything she knew and then offered a few options as to how they could proceed. There had not been a discussion, the decision had been rather quick, both women had agreed on a course of action.

They would hire a private company to send their own rescue mission to attempt to find Agent McKinney.

Once Emily had left and they had been alone, Elsie stood in front of Isla. She took a strand of Isla's blond hair and gently placed it behind her ear. "I know you know, but I want to make sure you understand what you are risking. This is a private company, they will infringe on the government's mission. I am good at covering my tracks and they should never be able to trace the initiative to you, but as with everything, we cannot be certain."