Claire

The air was bitterly cold in the city as a growing crowd stood over a dead body. Lately there had been a drug going around called Axiom and it was ten times as deadly as heroine. No one knew why people kept taking the stuff. One dose was enough to get you hooked, but use it often enough and you ended up dead. It was a mystery. One that no one could answer.

The police had gotten a 911 hang up from a burner cell about the location of a body that appeared to have collapsed. Everyone knew what that meant, but one detective arrived later than the rest. She ran a hand shakily through her blond hair. "Alexander!" She shouted at her partner as she ducked under the crime scene tape, "What on earth is going on here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," a medium height Hispanic looking man handed her a large coffee cup, "You're late, and I believe Ava was just about to give cause of death."

"Well, It wasn't just that new drug going around, the guy was strangled, if these bruises are anything to go by, and it looks like he was already dead before he was shot up, but i'll have to run some tests to confirm….Looks like that weird criminal killer is at it again Sam," The medical examiner, Ava, stated as she stood up from the body and spoke to the two detectives. She had long dark hair, and appeared to be of Latin descent.

Sam sighed in annoyance. "Are you sure? Please tell me you're joking!" He groaned, knowing that the body count in his case was stacking up, "Please tell me it's not the same calling card?"

Ava stretched and gathered her supplies, looking up at him sympathetically, "Sorry detective, same MO as all the others, strangled, beaten. They wanted information from the looks of things and I bet if I take some x-rays, we'll probably find that he was later on killed by snapping the neck at the C5 vertebra…..This guy knows what he's doing."

Sam made another displeased grunt, running a hand over his face and looked at his partner, "Claire….this is gonna be a long night, any chance i can talk you into helping me?"

Claire, the blonde, laughed a bit, "not on your life Alexander, I got my own assignment."

Sam smiled, "Yeah, I know, be careful ok? I don't need you ending up as another body on my case…..I'm really worried about you, The Meta's are really not a group you wanna cross, and the last guy they sent in-"

"Yeah yeah….I know…...I saw the photos…..Parker made sure I knew what I was in for…..but it's gonna be ok….I've got...hmmm….a guardian angel of sorts…."

Sam snorted, "yeah, ok...since when did you become religious?"

"I'm not, But I do have someone looking out for me, If I don't check in every 8 hours, well, you know how she gets," she said laughing.

Sam smiled, "Yeah, yeah I do. So" he asked, dragging out the 'O', " wanna go out for drinks tonight before you have to go get a makeover?"

Claire laughed, "only if you're buying!"

"You are so cruel!" He teased, "but yes, I'll even buy you a shot of your favorite."

The sound of someone clearing their throat got both of their attentions. "Not to interrupt," said a taller blonde man, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail to keep it out of the way, "but we actually have a witness this time,"

Both Sam and Claire's jaws dropped at the news, "Danny, are you serious? Because if i find out you're joking so help me god I'll-"

"I assure you Sam that I'm serious," Danny smiled, "I'm bringing him back to the station for questioning, so as soon as you two are done flirting if you could come and join me that would be great."

Sam made a gagging noise and Claire made a disgusted face, "Ew! Danny that's sick!"

"There is no way in HELL there is anything between Claire and I! She's like a sister to me!" He exclaimed as Claire chose to laugh it off.

"Yeah," she said slinging an arm around Sam's shoulders, "I like my guys actually tall and you know," she paused and looked over Danny, "not Sam."

"Hey! I'm not that short Chica!"

"Tell that to the medical records, Hermano."

Sam groaned, "your pronunciation is terrible, please never speak Spanish to me again!"

Claire laughed loudly at that, "You know I only do that to annoy you."

"Which is why I call you hermanita."

"What does that even mean anyways?"

"It means pain in my ass," he teased, laughing.

"Bullshit Sam! What's it really mean," she argued as they walked back over to their vehicles.

"That's for me to know and for you not to!"

"Whatever, let's go back and get some answers shall we?"

"You go ahead, I've...uh…..I gotta go see someone about a wolf," He said as he walked next to Claire..

Claire nodded, understanding exactly what he meant by that. The other officers around looked at him strangely, but shrugged it off as Sam being Sam. He may have been a little… different, but he was considered one of the best. Their boss, Peter, often referred to them as 'The dream team' just because they almost always got their man. Almost.

"Good luck Sam, remember, show no fear."

"I'm past the fear part and more at the Whisky Tango Foxtrot level."

Sam

Claire smiled at him, cuffing him on the back in her usual, 'go get em' way. He rolled his eyes and stretched a bit before walking off down the alley. He knew where to go. He knew those calling cards usually meant that she had information for him. On one side, she was a criminal. Well, technically speaking she was. To some people she was a guardian. She only ever went after other criminals. Mostly real bad guys. Sex traffickers, rapists, murderers. The kinds of guys people wouldn't want to run into in the dark. In reality, she was doing them a favor. The violent crime rates had been dropping since she started taking out the real baddies. Unfortunately though, the law doesn't see it that way. Everyone in his division says the same thing. 'This guy does what we are all thinking, but can't actually do.' Sam wanted to laugh. If only they knew who the real killer was, they would probably double over laughing.

He walked up to the abandoned factory, slipping in in-noticed since it was secluded and there was no one around. Well, almost no one. The sound of clanking metal startled Sam a bit and he drew his gun with lighting speed. Honestly, if the information she gave him wasn't as valuable as it usually was, he would have put a bullet in her sooner. Probably not though.

His heart raced as he saw the woman stalking out of the shadows. Her long-ish, curly blonde hair pulled back into a messy bun. She was short but intimidating, standing at a mere five feet and five inches tall, just a few inches shorter than he was. As she drew closer, he could start to make out the light smattering of freckles spanning the bridge of her nose and dotting across her cheeks.

"Jumpy there, Quick-Draw McGraw? Honestly you cops are all trigger-happy idiots," she grinned, leaning against a steel support beam three feet in front of him.

"What is it you need to tell me Liz, and why did you leave a witness? That's not like you," he asked, holstering his gun once more and running a hand through his brown-black hair. She laughed a bit. It was a silky, tinkling sound. Almost like a bell to his ears, or perhaps more like a grand piano. She made her way to him, running her fingers along his jaw as she circled him. "Oh Sam," she breathed, "Sam, Sam, Sam….all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, you don't look at me the way you used to, and you don't bring me flowers anymore."

Sam rolled his eyes, "Because of your little 'habits' my case has a huge body count and no one to answer for it, so spill."

Liz looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes. "Right to the point" she cooed as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, "something's bothering you. What is it?"

"Well, maybe it's the fact that Parker has been down my throat about my case and why I can't seem to catch my guy, or the fact that my informant happens to also be a pain in my ass, and did i mention that both the people i mentioned are the same person?" Sam finally expelled his feelings, "Not to mention my partner is going undercover for the Meta's!"

"What!?" Liz asked, tensing up, her voice taking a dark tone, " No way in hell that's going to happen….at least tell me you're going with her?"

Sam looked down, "I'm not….we can only send one person in without looking suspicious,"

"I'm warning you now, I'm about to murder my first innocent person, or at least torture him until he pulls her off this case…" Liz growled a bit, "I've worked for the Meta's a few times, they are sick and twisted. They will stop at nothing to take out their rivals!"

"I know Liz…"

"If anything happens to her-"

"I know what you'll do…...now how about you give me that info you have for me so I can get back to chasing down the wrong guy again," he smirked, turning in her grip.

"Fine…...there's an Axiom shipment coming in at Dock 43 in the harbor. I'm not sure how true it is, but that's what I heard. It comes in at 01:00 hours Thursday morning, if you get there I heard that a very important crime boss is going to be there as well. Cut off the head the body will flounder, and trust me, he's the biggest coward I know, he'll tell you everything so long as you keep him out of maximum security prison."

Sam smiled, "Thanks Liz"

"Don't thank me, I just murdered a guy," she said looking down at the ground.

"Yeah but he was a sleaze bag. Parker won't admit it, but he thinks the same thing everyone else does. Violent crime rates have been dropping since you showed up. Even if you are working for bad people you only ever take out bad people so it's a win win."
Liz sighed, resting her cheek against Sam's chest. He smiled more, running his fingers through her hair. "Seriously Lizzie when are you moving in with me? And when are you gonna admit that I'm your boyfriend?"

"Never."

"To which one?"

"Both," she quipped, pulling away from him.

He frowned, taking her hand before she could run off, "Liz, please-"

"No Sam, if i admit to dating you, I could put you and Claire in a lot of danger! I work for CRIMINALS!" She yelled in the abandoned building, "And they won't hesitate to kill everything and everyone I love-"

"So you love me?" He smirked, crossing his arms.

Liz blushed, looking away. "Who said anything about love? I'm just saying that you'd be in danger, and I got a vendetta against the underground organizations in the city," She sighed, not meeting his eyes, "But maybe….after I figure out how to destroy the Meta's…..maybe I could take you up on your offer…...sleeping in abandoned apartment complexes really don't agree with me."

"Yeah, I'd like that Liz, let's bring those bastards down together ok?"

"Fuck no, I'll do it myself, You just focus on keeping my sister alive and keeping my ass out of jail," she said pushing him away from her, backing away slowly and winking at him coyly, "next time I'll stop by your place and we can talk about something other than business."

"I look forward to it," he said smiling down at her.

"You better, though maybe you won't point a gun at me then."

"Oh hush you, maybe if we met up in a coffee shop or something I wouldn't be so jumpy," he said as he turned to head out of the building, "this place creeps me out."

"I kind of like it, might make it my secret base of operations," she said as she followed him.

"You've been reading too many comic books carina."

Liz shivered a bit, "shut up, comics are amazing, and I hope you know I don't know a lick of Spanish."

Sam chuckled as he exited the building, the morning sun starting to peek over the buildings in the city. "Well I have to get to the station," he said as he headed back towards where he parked his car, "I'm getting drinks with Claire later, a bit of a send off before she goes undercover."

Liz nodded, grabbing his hand and walking close to him again, "please tell her to be careful, I…..I don't want to lose her."

"I will, don't worry,"

Liz smiled. It was different than her usual ones. Normally her smile was sickeningly sweet, like honey, but this one was more like a gentle breeze through flowers. It was warm and almost human. Almost. She moved closer, stretching her neck upwards to gently brush a kiss along his lips. "I'll stop by your place later tonight, I'll wait on the couch and eat all of your food in the process."

Sam laughed, a pink tint to his tan cheeks, "Yeah, should I bring Claire by too?"

"Nah, she's got enough to worry about, no need to bother her and have her lecturing me in the process," she said as she parted from Sam.

"I see your point, later Lizzie," he said giving her a kiss on the cheek before walking off.

"Please don't call me that," Liz said as she groaned and walked off to her own vehicle.

He watched her roll the non-descript street bike out from behind the building and smacked a palm against his forehead, "Please tell me you bought that?"

"Oh Sam, where's the fun in that?" She giggled, placing her helmet on her head and starting the bike.

It roared to life and soon she had taken off, waving as she gunned it towards the city. He sighed and headed back to his car. It was going to be a long day he just knew it. On top of all that, he never did find out why she left a witness. He shook his head before getting in his car and driving to the station, stopping to grab another coffee for him and Claire. He walked into the station, navigating through the masses of civilians and officers. Claire had been writing up the report when Sam returned.

"Hey there hot shot? How'd the wolf hunt go?" She asked, finishing up her third cup of coffee.

"Probably about as well as you trying to cut back on the coffee," he grunted, sitting down at the desk in front of hers, as he set another cup in front of her as he walked by.

"Just remember that this caffeine is what keeps you alive," she said as she grabbed the next, "Sooooooo."

"So what?"

"Any news, what's the word?"

He smirked, and she gave him a 'don't you dare say it' look. "Bird is the word, drug shipment on Thursday at one in the damn morning, why is it always at the crack of ass in the morning?" He asked, slouching in his desk chair.

"Probably because lazy-ass cops like you don't like to get their Hispanic ass out of bed at a decent hour," she retorted, sipping casually on her coffee.

He gave her a look, and she laughed a bit. He was about to say something when a deep, baritone voice cut him off. "So, heard through the grapevine that we are gonna be working together starting tomorrow," said a large, buff, african-american man.

"Well if it's you then maybe Claire shipping off on an undercover assignment might just be tolerable!" He exclaimed, standing and bumping fists with the newcomer, "How's it hangin' Luke Cage?"

Claire raised a brow, "umm, you gonna introduce me? Or am I just gonna have to guess how you two know each other, and trust me, none of the mental images are PG…"

Sam laughed, "Claire Jordan, meet Luke Cage, we were in the academy together."

"Nice to meet you detective Jordan," he said shaking her hand and smiling at her, "Heard a lot about you."

Claire raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "All good things I hope," she said with a small smile before getting a text, "I'll have to elaborate this another time. Ava has some information for me."

Sam looked at her and his smile fell. "Need me to come with?" He asked as Luke stood by slightly awkward.

"No," she said grabbing her coat and shutting her laptop, "Why don't you come out to drinks with us tonight Luke?"

Luke looked to Sam and smiled. "Sure thing," he said as the clapped Sam on the back, "I gotta go catch up with Danny, do you mind if he comes with?"

"Sam you delegate," she said as she hid a blush and walked out to the hallway, "I've gotta see a woman about a corpse and drugs. If tonight turns into a surprise party, I will shoot you!"

Sam laughed as he watched his partner walk down the hall. "Definitely invite him," he said with a laugh as he sat back down to his desk.

Claire

Claire walked into the morgue to see her boss and the medical examiner in a frantic make out session. "Whoa there you two," she said coming in with her eyes covered, "I get that you're married, but have some respect for the dead. Even if he is a Meta."

Ava laughed and straightened her lab coat before walking to the body for her paperwork. "Good morning to you too Claire," she said pulling out the papers from toxicology, "your lovely Meta here died from the broken neck, just like i thought. He was one more drug intake from an overdose, shows that he was injecting the new drug Axiom. Would love to tell you the signs and symptoms," she paused as she pulled back the sheet covering him, "but sadly he was dead before they set in."

"So boss," she said turning to the tall brunette who had been making out with his wife, "How do you want me to approach this?"

Peter ran a hand through his light brown hair as he was debating the strategy. "Look Jordan," he said pacing around and looking from the body to Claire, "I don't want you to end up here on this table. But the best way is for you to jump right in but I have to figure out a way for to get you in without raising too much suspicion first. I'll probably put Sam on it, since he has guys on the inside. We have a few people tailing some to figure out where they hang out, their eating patterns, their mannerisms. I'll have more for you once Thompson gets back."

Claire sighed and nodded to her boss. "Very well," she said walking towards the door before pausing, "by the way. Next time you want to make out. Try shutting the doors and blinds."

Peter's face flushed a deep red as Claire walked back to the elevator. She couldn't help but chuckle as she hit the button to go up. She heard someone walk up next to her and when she looked she was greeted by a head of blonde hair. "Hi Danny," she said smiling as the doors opened.

She walked into the elevator, holding the doors open for him. "Going up?" she asked, grinning, and raising an eyebrow, "or going down?"

" Anywhere but this floor, the hormones in this room are making me sick," he deadpanned, ignoring her sexual humor, "I honestly don't know why you still insist on trying to fluster me. Unlike most of these pigs, I actually have some self control."

Claire laughed, "Are you calling them pigs because of their actions or because we're all cops here?"

Danny smirked, "think what you'd like."

"Oh Danny, you have a way of insulting someone and making it sound like a compliment,"

"I have a certain set of skills, a way with words is one of them, which is why I am the best Psych-profiler in the city," he said as he looked down at her.

"And is one of the reasons so many girls find you so attractive," she said, laughing a bit.

"Are you saying you find me attractive, Detective Jordan?" He asked, an amused lilt to his voice.

Claire felt her cheeks heat up as the elevator made a noise to signify they were at the floor. "Well would you look at that?" She said stepping out of the elevator, "It's my stop."

"See you at lunch, Claire," he smiled, waving, "oh, and when you get a chance, pass on to Sam that I don't think our witness has any reason to lie, but I'll try to get more information out of him if I can."

"I-i will…." She cleared her throat, waving as the doors closed.

Sam coughed to catch her attention. "Well that was interesting," he said as his partner blushed a deep scarlet, "how long have you two been dancing around each other?"

Claire gaped at him. "I am not talking about this with you right now," she hissed as she tried to laugh it off and walked back to her desk, "You need to go talk with your witness anyways."

Sam laughed loudly, pounding his fist on the desk, "Jeez, seriously! Just tell him already, because he totally already knows you think he's hot!"

"That's because I just accidentally told him in the elevator!" She cried out as she hit her head on the desk.

"Nah, pretty sure the whole staring at his ass as he walks by was the big hint," he sipped at his own coffee and jotted down some notes onto a piece of paper, "so, is Parker with Ava? Or should I just leave this on his desk?"

Claire lifted her head, rubbing the now red spot in the middle of her forehead. She read over the paper and laughed. "You realize that they're married, right?" She asked him with a ludicrous look on her face.

"Yes, which considering you just went to see Ava you'd know better than I would whether I should just leave this little anonymous tip on his desk or hand it to him personally," he said as Peter walked out of the elevator.

"Looks like you can give it to him now," she said as she opened her laptop back up, beginning to finalize some reports before her assignment.

"Give what to me?" Peter asked, stopping at their desk on his way over to his office.

Sam held up the paper with a roll of his eyes, "can't believe you're sending her in there alone Cabron."

"Sam, you know as well as I do that I can only send one,"

"So you send her?! No offense Claire, but these guys are jacked up on drugs and probably hit like a truck! If she's caught there's no way she's gonna be able to defend herself!"

"Sam I think you forget who was the number one person no one could crack in the academy during interrogation, Parker here almost couldn't get me," she said crossing her arms over her chest with a smug smirk.

"While that's true, these guys won't hesitate to put a bullet in you…" Sam began to say as the office area seemed to clear out besides the three in conversation, "I've seen them do it, I think you forget that these guys, if they can't get what they want out of you...they won't leave you alive, I don't want that to happen to you."

Peter looked at the two and sighed. "I would hate to lose one of my best detectives," he said placing a hand on her shoulder as her face fell from the smile, "That's why we're installing fail safes. You will report every night at 1900 hours, I'd say to wear a wire but you'd most likely get caught with it. You have to completely change everything about yourself so no one recognizes you."

"I know, I'm gonna take care of that tonight, so that way you guys don't even know, it's safer that way," she nodded, "by the way, you and Ava up for drinks after work? It was Sam's idea, and so far I think Danny and Luke are going,"

Peter smiled softly, "Yeah, I'll show up, probably won't drink, but I'll be there."

Claire smiled and stood up from her desk. The three stood and it fell quiet. "Thank you," she said hoping that the sentimental moment would be over with, "So I'm going to finish my paperwork before I go deep undercover. But before that, I'm getting more coffee."

Sam chuckled and ran a hand through his hair as he and Parker walked towards the chief's office. "You do that, but I'm wondering what you're gonna do when you don't get your required caffeine after you go undercover, then again, you are pretty scary, maybe you'll fit right in," he said laughing at her as she threw something in his general direction and the room began to fill back up.

"Oh shut up Sam!" She chuckled, flipping him off on her way out.

Sam

Sam smiled, but as he closed the door his smile fell, "I have another anonymous tip…."

Peter sighed, "Where do you keep getting these, they're always right on target, but I'm starting to think you're psychic or something."

Sam snorted, "trust me, if I was psychic I wouldn't be working here, I'll tell you that, but I will say I have informants who hear things through the grapevine."

Peter laughed, "right, you're the guy with all the friends in low places….seriously Sam, why are you a cop? You'd probably make way more running your own gang or something,"

Sam shrugged, "it never appealed to me."

Peter looked at his co-worker and friend. "Sam I know you're not because of your dad," he said as he sat down at his desk.

"It was hard enough being the son of a huge crime boss, but getting out of there was the hardest thing I ever had to do, and…...and if I ever somehow have kids, I'd rather them try to get out of the cop life than the crime life. At least I know you guys can protect my family. "

Peter leaned his elbows on the desk. "I know Sam," he said and ran a hand through his hair once more, "And we'll do anything for you and your family, if you ever settle down."

Sam laughed at his friend and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. If he only knew. He thought back to the girl he had met with earlier that morning. He smiled to himself, thinking about something that would never happen. Sam sighed and looked to Peter. "Anyways," he said standing back up after a few minutes, "the tip stated that a new shipment of Axiom is coming in Thursday at 0100 hours on Dock 43. Claire will be undercover at that point, so hopefully we'll know if it's Meta's or not."

"Good," he said as he jotted the notes down, "Did your informant say anything else?"

"Only that a major crime boss will be there, and that he cracks easy under pressure. He'll tell us whatever we want to keep himself out of max security prison," he said as he opened the door.

"I'll probably put you and Luke on that with a small team of trained professionals."

"You're teaming us up with the SWAT team?" He deadpanned, "No offense, but i hate those guys, they're a bunch of pompous dick bags."

Peter sighed, "can you please hesitate to say those kinds of things about people you don't like?"

"Nope" Sam retorted, popping the 'p' at the end as he shut the door and walked back to his desk as he noticed Claire was still gone.