Mike has a doorbell, but he's slow to answer it. He tends to react a lot more quickly if someone's pounding repeatedly on his door hard enough to need an ice pack once she comes in, hard enough that the wall near his study starts shaking. Not that he gets a lot of visitors, but the only ones who do knock instead of using the doorbell are Kitty and her players, and in the years since he started working this closely with the team, they've become the most important people in his life, both because of the need to protect them and because of the secret they all share, the secret that could destroy the Fever if the league discovered it. Whoever it is this at this odd time of the day, they're panicking and desperate, because the thuds come fast and hard enough to shake some plaster dust onto his desk.

He opens the door. Kitty's fist is bleeding and the sleeve of her blouse is ripped from where she threw herself against the door. "God, Kitty, are you okay?" he asks. "Come on, get inside, people will think I'm beating you or something." Arm over her shoulder, he ushers her into the living room/study and sits her firmly down in the most comfortable chair, the one she usually turns down because she sinks into it and looks even tinier than she is. She doesn't fight him, and that means it's bad.

"I'm being fired," Kitty says. "Ownership is going to tell me they've had enough of the awful seasons we've put together and is looking to go in a completely different direction with the team. I should be getting the call any minute to meet up with the proper people at the Fieldhouse."

"Since when have they cared how bad we are? They know the only reason we sniff sixth is because Atlanta is insane. Heck, this season we actually got four wins out of the year instead of three, thanks to that forfeit by the Dream."

But the small talk means nothing, because Mike can follow Kitty's train of thought faster than she can say it or sign it. Kitty came on as coach because her unique background made her able to communicate with an entirely deaf team, and also made her a safe choice for a team that was doomed to spend its existence looking up at the rest of the conference. If she were out, that meant she wasn't needed anymore, and if she weren't needed anymore, that had to mean…

"They're finally making the changeover." Kitty nods, but her tumbling hands tell him he needs to elaborate for her. "The Purdue senior is finishing this year. And they started using the cloning device with her. Probably got some calls from furious alumnae and a warning from the conference, so they'll say they're deeply sorry and that she won't be taking her fifth year of eligibility after all." Mike smiles darkly at the ruse more than one school had pulled off. "But she's still hooked up. Just send her to Indianapolis and prep the studio."

"That's what I thought too. Nice to know we're still on the same wavelength. We need to find the girls. Now. Ownership won't let them run loose without a controller. Not with our Tamika. They've lost everything once. I won't see it happen again. Get texting."

But before Mike or Kitty can reach for their phones to warn their team, someone pounds on the door. Mike runs to answer it. There's a guard on the other side, twitching with nervous energy, her eyes widened and fear twisting her face. He looks at her frame and makes an educated guess. "Tan?" he signs.

She nods and starts to answer, but her shaking hands are moving so fast that her signs blur into incomprehensibility. Mike takes her by the wrists to quiet her while Kitty tells her to calm down. She stills in Mike's grasp, but her feet drum an impatient rhythm on the carpet. When Mike lets her go, she starts signing again, still a little too fast for comfort but more understandably. "Catch is dead. She told me- us- to run, to get out. Help me get out of here."

Mike and Kitty look at each other in stunned surprise. Tan steps between them. "Now. Please. I can't stay here too long. They'll get me. I won't let them make me into Stephanie White."

Kitty takes over, signing to Tan, talking to Mike. "Okay, Tan, where do you want to go? When do you want to do it?" "I don't believe it. They gave her enough time to get her team free. And she did it. I don't know how, but she did it."

Mike's about ready to answer when Tan says, "Home." Kitty and Mike stare at her, and Mike can't help but think that it's been a long time since he heard that voice. It's not quite Catch's voice; Tan's a few inches shorter than Catch, so her vocal cords are shorter and her voice is higher, not to mention even in the single word there's a hint of a drawl that Catch never learned to pick up. Still, there's an element of familiarity from the years before that comes close to distracting Mike and almost causes him to miss Tan continuing with her hands. "I remember home now. I have to go back. My family, my friends, my life, please…" "Please…"

"We will. Don't worry. If you go through Birmingham, we have a friend there who can meet you and keep anyone from getting you," Mike replies. Kitty takes her cue perfectly and heads for the computer, but before she can log on, someone else is pounding on the door. "Kitty, could you get that? I have to get the word out." "Tan, stay calm. We're working on it." He throws himself into the computer chair and logs in to The Board. There's only one way to get the word out across the global network of fans and support staff quickly and efficiently.

Big news from the Circle City. The worst team in the league is cleaning house top to bottom. Expect complete roster turnover and major player movement. PM me if you need anything else.