Okay, here's the start to a new story. I am weaving an undercover case in here. Hope you like it. Thanks to Bridgette for ideas that will come into play later in the story. As always, these are not my characters. I'm just enjoying them. This story is set during The Closer, no specific year, but it would be somewhere during Seasons 5-7 when Sharon is around. This is also in the A/U realm.
She'd been summoned. Oh, she hated being summoned, especially to Pope's office. In her job, people didn't summon her; she summoned them. It was part of the power she liked. She might have the most hated job in the LAPD, but she enjoyed that others had to come to her. There wasn't much to like running Internal Affairs, but making people come to her, and then watching them squirm, that she enjoyed. She didn't enjoy being summoned to any office, especially Pope's office. He was just about the only one in the LAPD who could summon her, and she actually had to go. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good because she had no reason for a summons.
"Ahh, Captain, come in," Pope waved her toward his desk. Sharon nodded and proceeded toward his desk. "Have a seat, and we can all get started."
All. Sharon's head snapped up at the mention of "all." Such a simple word, yet it implied more than one, more than two. Her head scanned the room, noting someone else was sitting in a chair. She knew that silver hair anywhere. Sharon sighed as she made her way across the room, sitting in the chair with only a quick glance to the other occupant.
Andy. Lieutenant Flynn to be exact. He didn't glance her way; he just stared ahead, looking right at Pope. Okay, that was deliberate because no one wanted to look at Pope. Sharon cast a quick glance at Andy and then, when he didn't meet her gaze, she looked back over to Pope.
"I'll make this brief," Pope frowned as he sat down at his desk. "The FBI has asked for our help, and well, really, they want to turn this over to us now. They've been tracking some wine smuggling. I know," he waved his hands and rolled his eyes, "that doesn't sound dangerous or anything-what' a few bottles of wine, right? Well, it's big, and some of these bottles can be a lot more expensive than you imagine. Anyway, the wine has been passing through LA, and this group is getting pretty bold. There is a wine convention this coming weekend here in town, and they believe the majority of the group will be attending. That's where you two come in. I need you to go undercover."
Sharon glanced and Andy, and for the first time since she'd arrived in the room, he glanced at her. They both quickly looked back toward Pope.
"Chief, I don't think I'm the right person for the job," Sharon offered. She looked to Andy, "Chief, you can't possibly send him into this either," she waved her hand at Andy.
"And, what is so wrong with my detective skills?" Andy turned and barked at Sharon. "I'm a good detective, no matter what you think!"
"Calm down you two," Chief rolled his eyes. "This," he waved between the two of them, "is precisely why I picked the two of you. You didn't let me finish. Not only are you going undercover, you are going undercover as a married couple. That banter," he waved again, "that total irritation you two have with each other-that will play undercover. I don't have to ask you to act that part. You have it covered, have for years. People will totally buy you are married with that level of irritation, trust me," he rolled his eyes again.
"Chief-"Sharon tried but was cut off.
"Listen, Captain. You aren't talking your way out of this, or his," he nodded to Andy. "I picked you, Captain, because you are good at details, and your whole essence screams cultured and sophisticated. I'm guessing you can tell apart some of your wines, and what you don't know, you can learn. The vendors will believe you are there as a buyer. Also, I need someone who is a ranking officer, and quite honestly, no others fit the part like you do. Chief Johnson, as good at her job as she is, her Southern accent won't allow her to blend in like I need you to do. Flynn, as much as it pains me to say, you are a good detective, yes. You also have a way about you, the way you dress and carry yourself. Those are some of the reasons why I picked you. Provenza," Pope rolled his eyes, "would argue fine wine is getting a bottle of any wine instead of a box of wine at the gas station," he sighed. "You two are the right ones for this."
"I'm an alcoholic, Chief!" Andy stammered.
"I know," Pope nodded. "That's also precisely why I picked you too. That's one of the main selling points in these groups. Some have become alcoholics. They don't drink, but they can't pull themselves away from wine. They crave being around it, to sell it to others, use it in their restaurants. The two of you-Flynn, an alcoholic who supports his wife's fine wine obsession, and Captain, a woman who has the money and culture behind her to want only the best-you two are my detectives for this. Your objective is to locate those involved in the wine smuggling. They've been switching out the fine wines with cheap knockoffs, and by the time buyers figure it out, this group is long gone, of course, with very, very expensive wine. Often, they turn around and resell it for the original price, making a killing. We are talking thousands and thousands of dollars. Now, Flynn, I picked you for this for reasons I explained. Tell me, is wine going to be an issue?"
Andy glanced up at Pope. Pope looked to Andy and noted Sharon was shaking her head, "No," Andy replied. "Wine was never my thing. I was a liquor guy. Wine won't be a temptation."
"Very good," Pope nodded. "Here's all the info," he threw a packet on the desk between where they were sitting. "You are Cristin and Todd Brock. Your profiles are inside. No kids-that makes it easy to not invent crazy stories. You've been married 25 years, so your normal banter or arguing will seem normal. You like wines and are looking for new investments, which should be attractive to this group. You can read the rest. The wine convention will be this weekend, here in LA, which again, is why the FBI is pushing this on us. I have to continue to brief them, and they can be brought in if needed, but honestly, this seems like something we can easily handle. Flynn, I'll take care of Chief Johnson, and Captain, I expect you can alert your staff you are away for work?"
"Ahh, yes, Chief," Sharon said, still in a daze of this newest case.
"Very good. We'll have coordinating units from LAPD in contact with you within the hour to setup everything. Right now, you both need to go home and pack a few things. Professional wardrobe for the most part, as well as a couple cocktail type dresses, Captain," he nodded to her. Sharon returned the nod. "This group seems to have evening wine tasting events that will require cocktail attire. Any questions?"
"And, where will we be staying?" Sharon asked.
"Oh, about that," Pope nodded. "We have a room for you at the Beverly Wilshire, which is where the conference. SIS, who will be your eyes and ears, is preparing a car for you. Go home, pack, and when you return, they'll have the car and all your details."
"What kind of timeframe are you expecting, Chief?" Andy said, flipping through the folder.
"The conference is only this weekend, and we all believe, FBI and myself, that this can be handled in that amount of time. You need to locate this group, get the proof, and we'll arrest them. The FBI is covering the hotel bill, as well as the overtime for you and the others. It's a joint operation, and we can turn the group over to them when we apprehend them. Major Crimes will be involved too. As I said, I'll bring Chief Johnson up to speed as soon as you two are out of here. Now, go," he nodded.
The two didn't utter a word until they were out of Pope's office. Sharon started toward the elevator while Andy continued toward Major Crimes. "You know, I'm not exactly thrilled about this," Andy called to her as she stood at the elevator. Her arms were crossed, and she continued to press the button, as if that would get the elevator moving any faster.
Sharon turned, her stance defensive, and she looked at Andy, "You're not thrilled? I'm not either."
"Fine!" he snapped back at her. "See you back here in two hours, Captain," he snipped at her, enunciating her rank. She took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes when he walked away. It was going to be a long weekend, and completing their assignment was going to be easier than dealing with each other.