The Shield: Tuesday's Gone
(Characters of The Shield do not belong to me. They are property of FX and their creators.) This episode would come before "Barnstormers" in Season 2.
The Barn was busy; the normal hustle and bustle of a Tuesday morning.
Phones were ringing, the early morning risers in 'the cage' were clamoring for
everything from phone calls to attorneys to bail bondsmen. Cops flowed in and
out, doing their daily routine.
The desk Sergeant had just buzzed through a middle-aged woman in a tan suit.
She had graying hair and a purposeful look on her face. She was nothing but
business as she headed up the stairs.
The headquarters for Farmington Division of the LAPD was once a church,
obvious by the clerestory windows, some still with stained glass. But that was
all that was left that might have been Holy. For nothing much of any sort of
religion was going on now. Except maybe for the religion of the street. That
was something Detective Vic Mackey knew all about.
It was too early to be having this bad of a day. He'd slept on his own couch
again last night, which always left him with a headache and a bad mood. His
wife, who was asking him daily when he was going to move out, was little more
than a stranger. He was also late for work. And a minute in the door, Captain
David Acevedra found him.
"My office," Acevedra told him as he prepared to climb the stairs.
"No time," Mackey replied.
"Make time." A few minutes later, Mackey was in front of Acevedra's desk. "What?" he
growled. He hadn't even had coffee yet.
"I found your new Strike Team member. A minority- that fits my agenda-
and a little loose with departmental policy- that fits yours." The Captain slid a
file across the desk to Mackey.
Vic picked it up and opened it.
He was amused, even in his mood. He managed a chuckle. "You've got to be
kidding."
Acevedra wasn't laughing. "Detective Jade Cordova."
"A Hispanic and a woman. You're really trying to fill your quota." He rubbed
his clean-shaven head. "Come on, you're not serious?"
"I checked her out. I even noticed you worked with her several years ago."
"Yeah, we worked together. So?"
"She's been on Southwest Division SWAT for the last two years. I hear she's
as tough as they come, can hold her own. Besides, it'd be good for the department."
"Make you look good, you mean," Vic retorted.
"Whatever."
"Look, Cordova's a good cop, as far as the job. And yeah, she can hold her
own. I'm not even denying that she might catch on real fast how to play in our
ballgame, but, really Cap-""
"The bottom line Vic, will she fit the profile or not?"
Vic looked over the file again. It seemed Cordova had gotten herself into
some trouble over the past few years. She'd been suspended twice. She'd been
investigated by IA, but not for some time. No drug record. A long arrest record
and some in leading vice busts. Yeah, she would have contacts. And she knew
the street.
"Yeah, I guess. She has history with Shane," Mackey added.
Acevedra shrugged. "So make him get over it and keep his pants zipped."
"I'm not sure the other guys are gonna warm up to it real fast."
"Make them warm."
Acevedra sure did expect him to "make" a lot of things happen.
"Well I guess I'll give it my 'college try'," Vic deadpanned.
"Good. She's coming in today. At this stage, I don't think we'll find another
candidate that is more appropriate."
"Well, gee, thanks for consulting me," Vic said sarcastically. "But I get the
final cut."
Acevedra nodded. And he smiled a bit, so that it reminded Mackey of a reptile.
A knock on the door interrupted any further retort.
The woman in the tan suit looked at the two. "Captain, I'm looking for
Detective Shane Vendrell."
"And you are?" Mackey asked, before the Captain could acknowledge.
"I'm a process server for the law firm of Devenaugh and Carter."
Mackey rolled his eyes. "Follow me." He figured Shane was being evicted
again, or something equally stupid.
They walked up the hall to the green door with the sign written in marker
that read "STRIKE TEAM ONLY".
Shane, Lem, and Ronnie were playing cards. The woman wasted no time.
"Detective Shane Vendrell?"
Shane glanced up. Not impressed, he said "yeah?"
She handed him an envelope. "You've been served." On her heel, she turned
and left.
Shane threw down his cards. "Great!" he said in frustration.
Lem laughed. "Evicted again? Or'd your dog bite some old lady?"
Shane gave him a sour look and tore into the envelope.
Vic had gone to his locker to check his clips for his weapon.
A moment later, Shane cussed and stood up hard enough to send his chair
flying over backwards.
Vic looked over as Shane slammed out of the room, rattling the walls.
"He's really pissed," Ronnie remarked.
"You think he's out of the game?" Lem asked offhandedly.
Vic followed his long time partner and friend, but didn't catch up with him
until the parking lot, where Shane finally stopped beside his car."
"What's up?"
"That bitch!" Shane yelled, balling a fist. He slammed it into his car trunk.
"Whoa. Ease up. What's on the subpoena?"
Shane handed Vic the legal papers.
Vic read over them. " A DNA test?" he read. He looked at the name of the
petitioner. Oh shit. "Jade Cordova."
"That lying bitch," Shane remarked again.
This couldn't have come at a worse time. "She had a baby?"
"Yeah, apparently. Guess she can't find the daddy and needs a sucker. Well it
ain't gonna be me! She can kiss my ass!"
"So the kid ain't yours?"
"Hell no!" Shane insisted. "She didn't have that baby till more than a year
after we broke up. I don't know any chic who can stay pregnant for 12
months."
"Look, Shane, if it isn't yours, then no sweat. Take the test, she'll get it outta
her system."
"It just chaps my ass that she don't say shit to me for three years then that-"
he gestured to the papers Vic still held.
Mackey knew he had to tell the irate cop. "Well, you might be seeing her
sooner than you thought."
"What's that mean?"
"It means Acevedra's transferring her to Farmington."
"You're shitting me." Shane didn't find it funny. But Vic wasn't laughing.
Vic shook his head. "Sorry. There's more. With all Acevedra's P.C. bull, he's
ramming her down our throat. He thinks she's the new candidate for Strike
Team."
Shane felt like puking. He was speechless, save for a few expletives.
"And you went for it?" he finally asked, disgustedly.
Vic shrugged. "Well, I worked with her too. I know she can play by our
'rules'."
"Or lack thereof," Shane mumbled.
"I'm just saying, when I knew her, she was always on the market for a good
deal."
Shane guffed, still not amused. "Yeah, now she'd got a kid to support."
He finally sighed. "Well, I don't have to like it."
"No, but if she stays, you've got to work with her. Can you handle that?
You're not gonna let some homie pop her just because she used the Cadillac
and now she's tryin' to take the ride?"
Shane hated some of Vic's more colorful metaphors. "Of course not. If she
can hang, fine. But I'm not treating her any different because she's woman, or
because of anything else."
"Fine. Now, can we go back to work?"
Shane reluctantly nodded.
"What a rotten day."
Jade Cordova arrived at 'the barn'. She'd been a cop for 11 years; it was all
she knew. She'd learned to be as cold and as tough as any man. In Southeast
Division of the LAPD, she was known as the "Ice Bitch." It wasn't
something she was proud of deep
down, but she knew she'd earned it. Her career lately was edgy to say the least.
She'd gotten too close to getting too dirty. She didn't like that feeling, knowing
brass was watching too close. And her personal life was a mess, had been for
years. There was no solace there. All in all, her life was at the point of
becoming a real wreck. And then Acevedra, the Hispanic Captain of the
Farmington division had put in a call. The move couldn't come at a better time.
But then, there'd be Vendrell to deal with. Oh well, she figured. Better to have
to deal with him then lose her shield.
Jade was 5' 8" of mostly muscle. Of course, her curves still filled out her
jeans and tight black turtle neck sweater. Her long dark hair was pulled back
today, but loose, it curled softly around her shoulders. She was defiantly
someone people took notice of.
One of those people noticing was Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbaugh.
The lanky, somewhat socially inept officer had seen Jade come in. He'd noticed
her shield displayed at her hip and her shoulder holster with the .44 Glock. He
noticed how well she carried herself, like someone with good breeding. He
noticed her beautiful green eyes and her full lips. Dutch noticed a lot about
people. He just wasn't very good when it came to approaching them. But this
woman, he really really wanted to talk to her. For some reason, maybe it was
silly; he wondered what her voice sounded like. If it sounded anything like she
looked, he'd think she was a 1-900 number come to life. Not that he used those
numbers.
He stood up, almost knocking over his coffee. He smiled at her. She looked
at him like he was yesterday's left over.
"Hi, I'm Detective Wagenbaugh. Can I help you Officer-?"
"Cordova. And it's Detective. I'm looking for Captain Acevedra."
"You'll find his office right up those stairs."
She nodded and ran her tongue over the inside of her lips. "Thanks."
Dutch, along with half of the other male officers, watched her shapely rear go
up the stairs. Dutch had a feeling she could tear a guy like him up for breakfast
and have a new one by lunch. But that didn't keep him from wishing he had
the courage to ask her out.
Cordova found Acevedra and introduced herself.
"Well, I'm really glad you decided to take me up on my offer."
"It came at a good time," she explained, leaving it at that.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find that our division will keep you busy. We do some
good work here."
"So I've heard. I'm sure also that having a minority on a predominantly white
tactical team in this neighborhood will come in useful."
Acevedra shrugged. "It couldn't hurt," he played. He could see this one was
as sharp as she was beautiful.
"Well, how was Mackey with the idea?"
"He had good thins to say about you. He gets the final decision about the
Strike Team, of course, but I'm sure he'll make the right one."
Vic had told Ronnie and Lem about Jade. Shane remained silent and neither
mentioned the conversation in the parking lot. Lem was ambivalent, but
Ronnie seemed okay with it.
"She's just here to make the headlines so the department can look P C," Vic
added. "We use her when we need to, the rest of the time, she stays out of the
way."
"And you think she'll go for that plan?" Shane asked sourly. He knew just
how stubborn Jade could be.
"Eventually. If the price is right."
"But we're not gonna cut her in on anything big right?" Lem persisted. "Not
like the money train?"
Vic shook his head. "She's on a strictly need to know basis. And she doesn't
need to know about that."
Lem shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess, if she can hang."
"She's SWAT. She can hang. She's got a lot of chemical weapons and
explosives training too. Might even come in handy."
"Oh, yeah," Shane mumbled. "She can really blow you-" Vic gave him a dirty
look. "Away," he finished.
About then, Acevedra knocked and came in followed by Jade.
"Gentlemen, Detective Cordova. She's going to ride along with you today,
see how she likes our division."
Vic came over and stuck out a hand. "Good to see you again."
She took it. "You too."
He introduced Ronnie Gardocki and Curtis "Lem" Lemansky. "And I think you know
Detective Vendrell."
Shane stayed quiet and avoided her eyes.
"Well, lets get this show on the road," Vic said. "Lets get Detective Cordova
outfitted and see if she can run with the big dogs." He smiled.
Officer Danny Sofer saw Vic and the team heading out. She noticed a
beautiful dark haired woman with them, in a vest and LAPD cap. Danny
watched with a pang of jealousy. She wondered exactly how a woman made it
to try out for Vic's team, when even she hadn't gotten her foot in the door. She
noticed Dutch watching too.
"Hey Dutch, who's that?"
Dutch shrugged. He found out a lot in a short time. "Some burn out from
SWAT that Acevedra recruited. Her name's Cordova."
Detective Claudette Wyms walked over with her morning coffee. "What's
going on here?" she asked, watching Dutch and Danny watch as the Strike
Team left. "Does anyone work around here anymore?"
Danny went back to her paperwork at the desk she was barrowing. She really
needed to talk to Vic. She was so confused about what was going on with their
on again, off again love affair. She suddenly had a thought: was Vic sleeping
with that new woman too? Is that why he'd been so distant lately? God, this
was stupid. She really had to get over him completely.
The team raided a crack house. It was a neighborhood eyesore and Vic had
planned to clean it up eventually, but he'd gotten a tip that one of the patrons
might have a line on Armadillo. That boy had gotten way too dangerous to live
and Vic knew they had to start shaking down every shit hole to find him. No
time like the present.
Vic and the team executed a perfect surround and seize maneuver; Lem and
Jade covered the back while Vic and Shane busted through the front door with
a battering ram while Ronnie covered them. It was a clean bust of five cracked
out druggies. Ronnie called in for patrol units to transport their prisoners.
Vic singled out the one called Chupa, a middle aged, multi tattooed ex- con
who might know how to find Armadillo Quintero. He shoved the felon against
the wall, making sure Cordova wasn't in the room. No need to get her in to this
too deep.
"Easy ese," Chupa complained in a drugged out haze.
"Don't ese me. I hear you know how to find Armadillo Quintero. I want to
hear more."
"Man, that dude's a bad scene."
"You know how to find him or not? You're a three time looser you're going
down to the Bay for another stint unless you manage to sneak out the back
door while I wasn't looking. Armadillo?" Mackey hissed.
"Man, he's holed up. He got hurt bad, Burned. Maybe my cousin took him
some medicine, maybe a week or two back."
"Maybe your cousin got a name? An address?"
"I don' remember so good."
Vic shoved a hundred dollar bill in his dirty hand. "Memory getting clearer?"
"Yeah, okay. My primo Ramos, shacked up with his old lady in the
Neighborhood, you know. He took some stuff to Armadillo. A motel on
Lorca. The Luminaria. But that was about two weeks ago. I don know if
Armadillo was still there, no?"
"Yeah, okay. Beat it." He pushed the Mexican toward the back door. Lem let
him pass and shuffle away out the alley.
"He say anything?" Lem asked.
"Not much. A maybe."
_____________________________________________________________
After work, Vic met Jade in the parking lot.
"Well, how was your first day with us?"
Jade smiled, one of the first all day. She'd always been able to let her guard
down with Vic, just a little. "I'm impressed."
"Good. How about we get a drink and talk shop?"
She nodded. "Sounds good."
They went to a small bar where cops usually didn't frequent. They sat at a corner table. Vic ordered a Heineken and Jade ordered a Coke.
Vic was a little surprised. He'd know Jade to drink men under the table. She
noticed him noticing.
"I gave it up," she said, shrugging.
He nodded. "So, I read your record. You've kinda been skatin' on thin ice
over at the beach."
She agreed. "That's why I was a little surprised when Acevedra called."
"He needed a token."
"I know."
"You're okay with that?"
"If I get more out of it than he does."
Vic smiled. It never did take her long to get to the point. "Look, we've kinda
had eyes on us to, so we're playing it cool now. Small stuff, you know. But
when the time is right, we'll be getting a good spread."
"And Acevedra? How much is he involved?"
"He wants to be a politician. He just wants to look good. As long as we make
him do that, he turns his head. That's all."
She nodded. "And I'm just there to continue to make him look good. I get
my name in lights, he shines, and the rest of the time I stay in the shadow?
Right?"
Vic shrugged. "That's pretty much how it plays. You can live with that?"
"Just don't let me get bored."
"You bored today?"
She laughed a little. "No."
"Then it'll be fine. What about you and Shane? You gonna kill each other?"
She sighed. "I hope not."
"He got the subpoena today."
"It's my sister Vic, She has custody of Carly. She's the one responsible for the
subpoena, not me."
"So you really had a kid?" ] She nodded. "She's two and a half."
"Why isn't she with you?"
Jade shifted in her seat. "It's kinda a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"I was drinking a lot. I spent most of the pregnancy in rehab. I got clean, but
I couldn't stay that way. Lisa took her away. She's been after me to get child
support. When I told her no, she started this crap. She had three guys
subpoenaed for DNA, including Shane."
"But it's not his, right?"
Jade lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"Look, I'm not trying to be a prick here, I just need to know that if you're on
my team, both you and Shane can work together. I need everyone in the same
park."
"I know Vic. I promise, you won't have any trouble on my end. As soon as I
can get Shane to talk to me, I'll explain everything."
"Oh, he'll talk to you alright. I'll make sure."
"How about you Vic?" Jade wanted to change the subject. " How are things
at home? The kids?"
"The kids are good." He shrugged. "Corrine and me are separated."
"Sorry. That's got to be rough."
"I miss the kids a lot."
"I miss Carly too. I only see her on weekends."
"It's hard, I work so much."
She nodded in agreement. "I want to try and get custody back. I've been
sober for almost a year. But I'd have to move into Burglary or Missing Persons
if I get her back. Something that doesn't take as much time and energy."
"Trust me, if you get your kid back, it'd be worth it."
"Yeah," she agreed. "That's what I'm hoping. It takes money too. A lot of
money."
He knew about that too. He had a detective agency bill running up into the
thousands even as they spoke. "We take care of each other in Strike. Whatever
you need, if we can do it, it's as good as done."
"I appreciate that Vic."
"Look, something else we need to talk about. Did Acevedra mention
anything about the team being Green lit?"
She raised her eyebrow and shook her head. "I can't say as he did."
"We're trying to run down a real bad dude. He had his own brother killed.
Raped a little girl. He's trying to take over the drug business down here; the
business that we had a good handle on- we couldn't get a handle on Armadillo.
He's more than a little pissed about us pushing him out. He put a hit out on the
team."
She nodded and looked thoughtful. "Well, you just push harder then, don't
you?"
Vic smiled. "I thought you might see it that way." He sipped the last of his
beer. "Seriously, if you're with us, watch you back. All the time."
"I'll get a new mirror."
_____________________________________________________________ Danny went home to her apartment. She was beat from the long day. She
Wished she had something else to do with her time but work and go home and
sleep, lately alone more and more. She'd seen Vic leaving with that new
Detective, Cordova. Again, Danny had done a slow burn. She knew she had no
ties on Vic, but yet, she didn't want anyone else to have them either. She knew
it wasn't fair, but hell, the whole thing wasn't fair to anyone. Maybe it was just
all this crap with the Arab woman. It was getting to her more and more. She
was afraid of what she might do if it didn't stop.
Danny was going to shower and go to bed, but suddenly, something stopped
her in her tracks. She happened to glance at the calander. What day was it? The
18th?
"Oh my God," Danny said outloud. She put some serious thought into it and
suddenly realized she was six days late. No, this wasn't ahppeneing. She and Vic
had always been careful. And lately, there hadn't been anyone else. Okay, calm
down, she told herself. It was just all this stress, that's all, screwing up her body.
"That's all," she repeated. But she couldn't help dwelling on it for the rest of
the night.
The next day at the barn was no different. Except everyone knew there was a
new kid in town- and that she was Vic's 'kid'. The auditor, Laney, was very
pleased with Acevedra and spent a good ten minutes in his office telling him
what good things she thought could happen for him because of this move.
Jade made "friends" quickly. She was in the break room getting coffee when
Dutch approached.
"Good morning," he said with a friendly smile. "I thought I'd be the first to
welcome you to "the barn"."
Jade gave him a hint of a polite smile. "Thanks." She stirred her coffee
vigorously.
"Don't judge us all by the way those guys act. We're not all-"
"A bunch of macho dicks on legs looking for a new lay?" she finished.
Dutch was taken aback. He'd never had a woman speak to him quite like
that, at least not a fellow officer.
"Look, I don't date cops I work with. I don't sleep with married men. I don't
blow my way to the top. So which ever angle you were thinking of using,
don't."
And with that and a shake of her long apple scented hair, she left Dutch
standing alone and beat down.
"God I want that woman," he muttered under his breath.
Wyms saw the way her partner looked at the new girl's ass when she went
back to the Strike Team office. He looked like a puppy that longed for the
attention of its master, even if the only attention it got was a kick in the ribs.
"Give it up son," she advised him. "That one is way out of your league. And
considering the company she keeps." she didn't finish the sentence. "Come
on, we've got work to do."
Vic assigned a team to watch the Luminaria Motel. It wasn't much of a lead,
but it could be something.
Shane and Jade sat in the Chevy, watching the motel. It had been two hours
already, and neither had spoken more than a few words.
"So, you think Vic put us together to see if we'd kill each other?" Jade finally
asked out loud.
Shane shrugged. "Probably."
"Look, about this paternity thing, I really am sorry. It's Lisa, my sister, who
wanted it. She has custody of Carly. That's why she wants the money. If I had
Carly back now, none of this would be happening."
" I took the damn test. Gave a whole vial of blood. You always
did go for the jugular."
"I really never planned for any of this."
"So who is the father anyway?"
Jade shifted uncomfortable in the seat. "I was drinking a lot back then. I had
problems. Problems with booze, problems with men."
Shane saw that Jade was really telling the truth. He understood now that she
might not even have a clue as to who she'd slept with when. He even felt a guilt
pang, because he knew that she hadn't been drinking that bad until they'd
gotten together-the late nights, the partying, the fighting-had that all led up to
this? He decided he might as well keep his mouth shut before it got him into
more trouble, like usual.
"Well, anyway, truce, okay?" he stuck out his hand.
Jade took it and gave him a hint of a smile. "Thanks. I remember we did used
to be friends." The touch sparked more than a few embers in her memory.
"Don't push it lady," Shane said, smirking, so she'd know he was joking.
Danny was distracted while she and Julien were out on patrol. He noticed and
had questioned her about it. He figured it was the fact that the Arab lady was
still harassing her that laid so heavy on his partner's mind.
"When ever you want to talk, I'm available to listen," he offered politely.
Danny shrugged. "Really, it's nothing." But she knew it might not be nothing.
It might be something. It might be something she really needed to talk to Vic
about. She'd wait a few more days and then.well, she'd just wait and try to
stop thinking about it.
Acevedra had been at his campaign headquarters earlier and had not liked
what he'd seen. He'd been after his patrol units to clean up the prostitutes
along Lincoln Ave, where his headquarters was located, but today it was worse
then ever. Male and female prostitutes solicited across the street and the
captain was not happy. As soon as he got back to the Barn, he tracked down
Vic.
"I want a hard crack down on the prostitution on Lincoln, starting today," he
told Vic and Lem.
"You want me to pull my guys off cases to work the hookers?" Vic asked, as if
the Captain's request was really putting him out.
"That's exactly what I want. You have a new female officer. Use her. I want her
out there and I want a sting operation set up immediately. As soon as the johns
see that they're going to get busted, maybe it'll get quieter down there."
"At least until elections are over?" Vic added with a smile. "Just get on it," Acevedra said with irritation.
Vic called in Shane and Jade, who'd been on the motel all day.
"Anything?" Vic asked when they got in.
Shane shook his head. "No sign of any of his people or Armadillo. I think he's
long gone from that rat hole."
"It was worth a try. Listen, Acevedra wants us to set up a sting on Lincoln, by
his political office. Bust some johns." Vic cocked a thumb at Jade. "He wants
you to hit the street. Lets get this thing moving."
Vic called Danny upstairs, and she was immediately reminded she needed to
talk to him.
"Vic, I'm glad you called," Danny said, coming up the stairs. "I need to talk to
you about something."
"Can it wait?" Vic asked. "I've got a street assignment for you, if you want it."
Danny was torn between her desire to get back to the street and advance in
her career and her personal worries. "Yeah, okay."
He told her about the sting operation. Danny was thrilled to get an
opportunity, but she was leery of working with 'the new girl'.
It only took a short time to set up the operation. They set up a mobile
booking station, on a rooftop near the area where Jade and Danny would be
'working'. Due to regulations, she was only allowed to wear 'street' clothes, but
to all the opinion of the Strike Team, that was enough. When Jade returned
from changing, she wore tight jeans and black heels, and a green tight tank top.
"Damn, where'd you hide your gun?" Vic asked.
She smiled. "You don't want to know."
Danny also arrived then; she wore a white tee shirt and black jeans. She too
looked hot.
The two women hit the street. The plan was that if a potential customer
approached, they were to get a price quote and exactly what for. Then they'd
tell the guy to meet around the corner in the alley, where Shane and Lem
waited to arrest him and run him up the stairs to Vic and Ronnie, who'd book
him. Ronnie even had the computer set up to make the booking go quick. Both
Danny and Jade wore wires and the entire team was connected so everyone
could hear each other. If there was trouble, the women were to say the word
"gringo" and the entire team would move in.
Danny and Jade walked together for a bit.
"So you're from SWAT?" Danny asked.
Jade nodded, popping her gum loudly.
"How's that?"
"Rough," Jade admitted. "A lot of guys don't warm up to a woman on their turf real quick."
"I can imagine. Was it hard to get in?"
"Yeah. At first." Jade wasn't willing to admit to anyone the things she'd had to do to get accepted.
"But you knew Vic from back then?"
Jade nodded.
That was all Danny asked, while she knew the entire team was listening.
After a while, the women split up. Danny got her first 'customer'.
"Hey red," a guy called from inside the car that just pulled up. Danny
approached, but not too close.
"Yeah? You want a date?"
"Maybe. How much?"
"Depends on what you're looking for?"
"Just a quickie. I've got to get to work." "Just straight sex? It'll be 40."
"40? That's a lot. How about 20?"
"20? Yeah, okay. Pull around the corner into the alley," Danny told him, feeling like a rather cheap date.
He did and right into Shane and Lemonhead. He was arrested for solicitation
and Vic took him up to the roof.
Jade got the next collar. The guy was driving a city vehicle and looked like a
plain wrap cop car.
"Hey darlin' how about some company?" a balding man asked.
"What're you a cop?" she shot back. She used a heavy Latin accent.
"No, I work for the City Transit Department." "You look like a cop, vato. I don't date no cops."
"Really, I'm not a cop. I'll give you 50 for some company?"
Jade approached the car passenger window. "Look, I'm working. I ain't
looking for chit chat."
"Yeah, I know. Fifty bucks, I get company and you get fucked? Okay?" He grinned.
Jade tried to keep from rolling her eyes. "Turn the corner into that alley. So no one catches us in your car."
The City employee willingly complied. And Shane happily pulled him out of his car and snapped on plastic zip cuffs. Vic led him away.
Little was the Strike Team or the women to know that they too were being watched. In a car in another alley, where he had a view of the street, was a young man with a badly burned face. Armadillo Quintero and his driver
watched the operation in motion. Quintero was especially interested in the
woman, the one with long dark hair. She was a new addition to Mackey's
playthings. A new beautiful addition that he wanted to find out more about.
After some time of watching the woman, Armadillo signaled his driver to leave.
He'd look into the woman soon enough.
In four hours, Jade and Danny raked them in. But it was getting slower now, and the overtime was about up.
"One more and I'm ready to call it a night," Jade said, knowing Vic was listening.
A guy in a black sedan with dark tinted windows pulled up then. Danny was just up the street.
"Hey baby. Hop in and I'll show you a good time."
Jade went as far as the window. "What'd you got in mind?"
The guy looked well to do, in a suit and tie.
"A good time," he repeated.
"I'm pretty expensive," she told him.
"I've got cash," he said. "Now get in." " It'll be 50 for straight sex, 30 for a blow," she told him.
He laughed. "Just get in puta,"
"Around the corner, in the alley."
He suddenly leaned out and grabbed her arm. "I don't think so bitch!" He tried to pull her in.
Shane and Lem could see what was happening and Lem gassed the sedan out of the alley. Shane ran toward the car, as did Danny. Vic was flying down the stairs.
The guy attempted to pull Jade into the car and step on the gas at the same time. Lem blocked him in with the unmarked car and the driver was forced to brake quickly.
Shane was at the drivers' door already, while Danny was behind Jade with her gun drawn.
Shane ripped open the door and yanked out the surprised driver, who then had to let go of Jade. Shane slammed him face down on the pavement and shoved his knee into the guy's back.
"Ain't no way to talk to a lady, prick!" he shouted, while cuffing the guy.
After they had mopped up the scene and Vic escorted the john to be booked, Shane and Danny hovered over Jade.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked.
Jade nursed her bruised arm and shoulder, where it had hit the car frame while she was trying to pull her arm free.
"I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Shane asked.
Jade looked at him, surprised at his behavior with the perp. "Yeah," she said, after a moment.
Back at the Barn, Vic was able to report that the operation had been successful, with 12 busts in 4 hours. Jade cleaned up in the ladies room, not ready to admit that she was a little shaken from the rough bust.
Shane went to use the bathroom, the men's room still defunct, and walked in while she was bent over the sink.
"Sorry," he said, and was going to retreat, but then came in instead.
"Hey, are you really okay?"
She looked at him again, the way she had earlier. "Yeah. I'll be fine." She cleared her threat. "You kinda surprised me out there."
"I was just doing my job. Reacting." " You reacted real fast. That's all. I can handle my self, you know."
"I know. I just." he didn't know what to say. "Jesus, Jade, you think that I don't care? You think I can just put all that time behind me?"
"You seemed to do a good job of it three years ago."
"Lets don't forget who left who. You ran out on me, remember? You wanted to prove to the world you didn't need nobody. You wanted freedom."
"Freedom?" she asked, raising her voice a little. "You were pretty damn free while we were together, as I remember. Pretty free with every fresh ass that walked by."
Shane shook his head. "Look, Jade, I don't want to fight with you anymore. I think we had enough of that too. I'm just saying.Oh hell, forget it." He turned and walked out again.
Jade didn't want to admit to herself or anyone else that she realized Shane still cared. Or that she still cared too.
Danny finally caught up with Vic, just as he was about to leave for the night. "Vic, can we talk now, just for a minute?"
Vic got into his truck, keeping a barrier between him and Danny. "Yeah, okay. A minute."
Danny looked around to see if anyone else was around earshot in the dark parking lot. "I've kinda got a situation that maybe might pertain to you. To us."
Vic shook his head. "I don't understand."
"Vic I'm late," she hissed.
"What?" he asked, though he'd heard just fine. "How late?"
"A week."
Vic shrugged. "Well, it's probably something else. I was careful."
Danny nodded. "I know, but, well, I was just kind of-"
"Did you get a test?"
She shook her head. "No. I was -"
"Well get one. Then let me know, okay?"
God he was being a prick. But what had she expected? Love and support from her married lover?
"Yeah, you're right. I'll get one tonight. I shouldn't have said anything until I was sure. I'm sorry Vic."
She turned to go, but Vic caught her arm.
"Danny, look. Don't be upset, okay? I'm sure it'll be okay. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" He gave her one of his smiles that had always been able to make her melt.
"Yeah, sure Vic. Tomorrow." _____________________________________________________________
Shane went home with his mind in turmoil. How could that woman have him in such an uproar? Wasn't his life complicated enough without having Jade in it? Jade and a kid?
Shane's house was a small one story two bedroom in a good enough part of the neighborhood that didn't warrant bars on all the windows. It wasn't neat and tidy by any sense of the word. He had laundry strewn all over, but it was sorted: clean on the couch, dirty on the floor. His kitchen had a few dishes in the sink, but mostly he ate out and the take out food containers ended up in the garbage. His refrigerator was stocked mostly with beer, several different kinds-Budweiser for general purposes, Bud Light for workdays, Corona for when he felt like drinking that Mexican shit, and a bottle of Jack Daniels, for times like this.
He poured a shot, unbuttoned his shirt and went to put on the stereo. He had invested in a good system and took pride in it and his CD collection. Every album from Lynard Skynard and George Throughgood, most from Elvis and the Rolling Stones. Country CDs from Hank Williams Jr and Travis Tritt to Waylon Jennings; His collection was displayed in four floor to ceiling CD racks on the same wall with the stereo.
He put on the last one he'd been listening to. Skynard.
Shane downed the Jack and followed it with a bottle of Bud chaser. He lit a fresh cigarette and moved some jeans over so he could sit on the couch. He pulled a shoebox from under the coffee table (which was being used for a gun cleaning station). He dug through some old photos in the box. A lot were from Vic, pictures of him with Vic's family, softball tournaments and that. But he found the one he was looking for.
Jade was wearing this skintight tee shirt with a low-neck line that enhanced those perfect tits she kept hidden these days. In the photo, he and Jade were arm in arm, each holding a beer. They had both been lit, but looked realistically happy. It had been a long time before he screwed up. How in the hell had he managed that?
He knew how. By letting his damn pride get in the way. That and his appetite for other women. He and Jade were too much alike back then. They both liked to play way too much to settle down. But now, as he got older, Shane started to realize that maybe letting her get away might have been the biggest mistake he'd made. And maybe that kid, if she ended up being his, might not be such a bad thing. Shane sat, drank, smoked cigarettes and listened to his music while looking at those old pictures until late into the night.
".Tuesday's gone with the wind." moaned Skynard. ".My baby's gone with the wind.train roll on"
The next day the Barn was a flurry of activity. The busts from last night's
Strike Team operation were a success and had turned up two interesting things:
the City Transit worker they had busted was actually head of Operations of
City Transit and his arrest had made front page headlines; second, the guy who
had roughed up Jade matched up to a suspect Dutch and Claudette had been
looking for in a string of prostitute murders. After they searched his car, they
found evidence to link him to their case.
Dutch found Jade as soon as he had a chance. "That was a great arrest," he told her. "This guy's been offing hookers for a couple of months and we never could pin him down."
"Happy I could do your job for you," jade said abruptly.
"Why do you do that?" Dutch asked, in a ponderous tone.
"What?"
"Beat men down. Are you that afraid of yourself that you can't let in a couple of kind words, or be decent to someone who's just trying to give you a compliment?"
Jade didn't like being analyzed. She turned to go.
"It's a defense mechanism, you know," Dutch added. "You should really ask yourself what you're more afraid of: letting someone in, or letting yourself out."
Jade didn't turn around, afraid her eyes would reveal the truth. "Thanks for the compliment," she managed, before walking off. Dutch smiled half-heartedly. He knew he'd pushed that chip off her shoulder, just a little.
Armadillo Quintero let himself in to Jade's two-bedroom apartment easily.
After finding out where she lived, the rest was easy. He made himself at home,
going through her things, her kitchen cabinets, her CDs, her closets. He l lingered to smell her clothing. Wonderful. Like Jasmine and Honey, some like fresh green apple. He discovered that scent was her shampoo and conditioner when he went through her bathroom.
He looked at her pictures. Most were of a little girl with those same green eyes. Her daughter, he presumed. He took some things: a camisole from her drawer, a bottle of perfume, a picture of Jade and Carly, and a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Oh this woman would be his trophy to prove to Mackey that he, Armadillo, was truly great.
It was Danny's day off. She hoped it would be a good one. She hadn't stopped last night to buy the pregnancy test; she was too upset from her encounter with Vic. So she set out early in the morning to do it. She walked nervously down the isle at Walgreen's. She aimlessly threw some other items in her cart, hairspray, a brush, a bottle of Aspirin, and a jar of peanuts. This was silly, she told herself. She was a grown woman. She was certainly capable and entitled to buy a pregnancy test if she wanted to.
She found what she was looking for and went to get in line. She never noticed who was also in line until she'd put her items on the counter, the test box with it's bright blue lettering resting right there on top.
"Good morning Danny," Claudette Wyms said from behind her, casually eyeing the counter.
Danny though she was going to go through the floor right there. "Oh, hi Detective. You're, uh, out early this morning."
Claudette smiled as the checker ran up Danny's items. "I find shopping easier at this time of day."
Danny hurriedly handed her card to the cashier who was slowly bagging the items. Danny knew Wyms had seen the pregnancy test. Oh well, she didn't know anything else. She couldn't. She didn't know weather Danny had a boyfriend or not. Did she?
"Well, se ya," Danny said quickly taking her bag from the cashier.
"Have a good day. Good luck," Claudette said.
Danny could have died as she ducked out of the store.
Danny wasn't the only one finding out about tests. Shane, who was on his day off as well, was trying to cure his hangover with a beer when his phone rang.
"Yeah?" he answered groggily.
"Detective Vendrell?"
"Yeah. Who's this?"
"This is Mike, from the lab, remember?"
Shane, when he'd gone to take the DNA test, had been real sure that's he'd never find anything out except from the slow moving law firm, and then only if he was about to be slapped with a back due child support court order. So he'd done what came naturally to Shane: he'd paid off a lab tech. He'd paid to find out the results of the test as soon as it came back.
"Okay, yeah, I remember you. You got those DNA test results?"
"Yeah. I think you'll be hearing from the law firm. The test results for you were labeled "inconclusive"."
"What the hell is that?" Shane sat up and rubbed his head. "What does that mean?"
"It means there were enough DNA matches from you to not rule you out, although you were only a 70 percent match. But the other two test subjects were less than 40 percent. You won't be ruled out unless there's another test subject who has a better than 90 percent match."
"I though these things were accurate!"
"They are accurate. It just means that you're not ruled out. It doesn't mean you're the biological father. But unless a closer match is found, that law firm is gonna come hunt you."
"Great!" Shane slammed down the phone. He figured the hundred dollars he'd paid Mike was enough thanks. He pulled on some clothes. He was going to give Jade a piece of his mind, once and for all. He was sick of her games.
Shane had every intention of going to the Barn looking for Jade, but he didn't have to. As he was getting ready to leave, she pulled up. When she knocked on the door, Shane jerked it open and pulled her inside.
Jade was taken by surprise. "Dammit, Shane you scared the hell outta me-" she began.
"I just got off the phone with the lab about that test. You wanna tell me what the hell is up? You wanna tell me why I'm not "ruled out" as your baby's dad?"
Jade looked at the floor. Her concrete walled exterior shell was crumbling.
"I.I don't know."
"What do you know? Know where to find another candidate with closer matching DNA? That'd be a good start!"
Jade had tears in her eyes. "I can't!"
"Why the hell not? You picked three out of a hat, why not three more! What, they gonna have to test the whole friggin' Vice squad in Southwest?"
Jade slapped him hard across the face. Shane caught her arm, his cheek stinging.
"That it, you ball the entire department after me?!" he yelled.
"I was a drunk Shane!" she yelled back. "When I wasn't drunk or stoned, all I could think about was you! You bastard! What did you think was going to happen!"
It dawned on Shane just then. She really didn't know who the father was. She might not have any idea. Jade saw the surprise and realization on his face.
She wiped at her face. "I shouldn't have come here," she said, and turned to go.
Shane caught her at the door. "I'm sorry," he said, almost inaudibly.
"I bet that was hard to say," she said, softly and without turning.
"You'll never know."
Jade turned, her tears making Shane's face a blur.
"Don't cry. I hate it when you cry."
"That's why I never cry. Not anymore."
The world be dammed, Shane pulled Jade to him and kissed her hard, his hand caught in her hair. She resisted at first, but like always, she couldn't resist for long. He pushed her against the closed door. She wrapped her arms around him. The passion was as strong as it had ever been.
_____________________________________________________________
Vic kept his word. He called Danny. As much as he didn't want to. Wasn't this just great. This was the last complication he needed in his messed up life right now. He sure as hell didn't need a knocked up patrol cop on his mind as much as she was. He needed to get back his family, that's what he needed.
Danny answered on the second ring. Vic was on his cell, at a stoplight.
"Hey, it's me. You okay?"
"Yeah." She didn't mention Claudette. "I took the test. The timer's about to go off."
Vic heard a ding in the background. His timing never failed to be perfect. "I'm gonna check it."
Vic didn't breathe for a minute.
"Vic?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"It's negative. I'm not pregnant."
Vic sighed. "Oh, well, good, right? Yeah, that's good."
"I'm real sorry I scared you. I shouldn't have said anything, it's just I was so upset."
"Look, Danny, we're friends," Vic pulled into traffic. "You can come to me, okay? But, this other.I mean, I'm trying to work things out with my wife.you understand, right?"
Danny skipped a beat. "Right. Listen, thanks Vic. I'll see you at work, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." He hung up. Well that was a close call he hadn't needed. He'd remember in the future to make sure his raincoat was buttoned.
_____________________________________________________________ Vic got to the barn and discovered Jade was absent. He knew Shane was off, but he was expecting Jade. Lem said she hadn't called in and Ronnie hadn't heard from her either. He told them to stay at the barn and cover for him and for Jade if Acevedra asked.
Vic drove to her apartment when he couldn't reach her by phone. Vic, already upset, was furious when he found her door ajar. With his gun drawn, he cautiously entered. He could tell someone had been there. He didn't know who until he got to the kitchen. The stove was on, burner red-hot. A picture of Jade had been taken out of the frame and burned on the range. Burned just enough to melt the surface and make burner marks across the front of it.
Mackey shut off the range with a fury. Armadillo! He knew about Jade and where she lived! He maybe already had her hostage!
Vic ran out of the apartment, hitting the speed dial for Shane's number. He cussed when the line sounded a busy signal.
He drove furiously to Shane's place. He saw the Corvette in the drive, but he didn't know that was Jade's. All he knew was that possibly one of his team was hit by Armadillo.
Mackey pounded on Shane's door, as he used his key to open it.
"Shane!" he yelled, but stopped short in his tracks when he saw the clothing littering the floor; not just Shane's usual litter of clothing. A woman's shirt and bra, two pair of boots, one man's one woman's.Vic got the idea. But too late. Shane was already up, a sheet around his waist, his gun in hand.
"Vic?! What?"
Vic took off his sunglasses and ran a hand over his head. "I hate to ask, but is Jade with you?"
"Yeah? Why? What's going on?" he knew it was serious for Vic to look so upset and come into his house so abruptly.
"Get her out here."
Shane went back into the bedroom, and in another minute returned, now in jeans, with Jade, in a bathrobe.
"Vic, I meant to get back to the barn-" she began.
"It's not about work. Someone was in your apartment."
"What?"
"When you didn't come in and I couldn't get you on the phone, I went to your place. Armadillo's been there. He burned a picture."
"What the hell? How'd he find out about her?" Shane asked.
Vic could only shake his head. "It's obvious. He's watching us. Not the other way around." Will Shane and Jade keep it together? Will Armadillo make the next move? Will Vic Strike back? Stay tuned!
(Characters of The Shield do not belong to me. They are property of FX and their creators.) This episode would come before "Barnstormers" in Season 2.
The Barn was busy; the normal hustle and bustle of a Tuesday morning.
Phones were ringing, the early morning risers in 'the cage' were clamoring for
everything from phone calls to attorneys to bail bondsmen. Cops flowed in and
out, doing their daily routine.
The desk Sergeant had just buzzed through a middle-aged woman in a tan suit.
She had graying hair and a purposeful look on her face. She was nothing but
business as she headed up the stairs.
The headquarters for Farmington Division of the LAPD was once a church,
obvious by the clerestory windows, some still with stained glass. But that was
all that was left that might have been Holy. For nothing much of any sort of
religion was going on now. Except maybe for the religion of the street. That
was something Detective Vic Mackey knew all about.
It was too early to be having this bad of a day. He'd slept on his own couch
again last night, which always left him with a headache and a bad mood. His
wife, who was asking him daily when he was going to move out, was little more
than a stranger. He was also late for work. And a minute in the door, Captain
David Acevedra found him.
"My office," Acevedra told him as he prepared to climb the stairs.
"No time," Mackey replied.
"Make time." A few minutes later, Mackey was in front of Acevedra's desk. "What?" he
growled. He hadn't even had coffee yet.
"I found your new Strike Team member. A minority- that fits my agenda-
and a little loose with departmental policy- that fits yours." The Captain slid a
file across the desk to Mackey.
Vic picked it up and opened it.
He was amused, even in his mood. He managed a chuckle. "You've got to be
kidding."
Acevedra wasn't laughing. "Detective Jade Cordova."
"A Hispanic and a woman. You're really trying to fill your quota." He rubbed
his clean-shaven head. "Come on, you're not serious?"
"I checked her out. I even noticed you worked with her several years ago."
"Yeah, we worked together. So?"
"She's been on Southwest Division SWAT for the last two years. I hear she's
as tough as they come, can hold her own. Besides, it'd be good for the department."
"Make you look good, you mean," Vic retorted.
"Whatever."
"Look, Cordova's a good cop, as far as the job. And yeah, she can hold her
own. I'm not even denying that she might catch on real fast how to play in our
ballgame, but, really Cap-""
"The bottom line Vic, will she fit the profile or not?"
Vic looked over the file again. It seemed Cordova had gotten herself into
some trouble over the past few years. She'd been suspended twice. She'd been
investigated by IA, but not for some time. No drug record. A long arrest record
and some in leading vice busts. Yeah, she would have contacts. And she knew
the street.
"Yeah, I guess. She has history with Shane," Mackey added.
Acevedra shrugged. "So make him get over it and keep his pants zipped."
"I'm not sure the other guys are gonna warm up to it real fast."
"Make them warm."
Acevedra sure did expect him to "make" a lot of things happen.
"Well I guess I'll give it my 'college try'," Vic deadpanned.
"Good. She's coming in today. At this stage, I don't think we'll find another
candidate that is more appropriate."
"Well, gee, thanks for consulting me," Vic said sarcastically. "But I get the
final cut."
Acevedra nodded. And he smiled a bit, so that it reminded Mackey of a reptile.
A knock on the door interrupted any further retort.
The woman in the tan suit looked at the two. "Captain, I'm looking for
Detective Shane Vendrell."
"And you are?" Mackey asked, before the Captain could acknowledge.
"I'm a process server for the law firm of Devenaugh and Carter."
Mackey rolled his eyes. "Follow me." He figured Shane was being evicted
again, or something equally stupid.
They walked up the hall to the green door with the sign written in marker
that read "STRIKE TEAM ONLY".
Shane, Lem, and Ronnie were playing cards. The woman wasted no time.
"Detective Shane Vendrell?"
Shane glanced up. Not impressed, he said "yeah?"
She handed him an envelope. "You've been served." On her heel, she turned
and left.
Shane threw down his cards. "Great!" he said in frustration.
Lem laughed. "Evicted again? Or'd your dog bite some old lady?"
Shane gave him a sour look and tore into the envelope.
Vic had gone to his locker to check his clips for his weapon.
A moment later, Shane cussed and stood up hard enough to send his chair
flying over backwards.
Vic looked over as Shane slammed out of the room, rattling the walls.
"He's really pissed," Ronnie remarked.
"You think he's out of the game?" Lem asked offhandedly.
Vic followed his long time partner and friend, but didn't catch up with him
until the parking lot, where Shane finally stopped beside his car."
"What's up?"
"That bitch!" Shane yelled, balling a fist. He slammed it into his car trunk.
"Whoa. Ease up. What's on the subpoena?"
Shane handed Vic the legal papers.
Vic read over them. " A DNA test?" he read. He looked at the name of the
petitioner. Oh shit. "Jade Cordova."
"That lying bitch," Shane remarked again.
This couldn't have come at a worse time. "She had a baby?"
"Yeah, apparently. Guess she can't find the daddy and needs a sucker. Well it
ain't gonna be me! She can kiss my ass!"
"So the kid ain't yours?"
"Hell no!" Shane insisted. "She didn't have that baby till more than a year
after we broke up. I don't know any chic who can stay pregnant for 12
months."
"Look, Shane, if it isn't yours, then no sweat. Take the test, she'll get it outta
her system."
"It just chaps my ass that she don't say shit to me for three years then that-"
he gestured to the papers Vic still held.
Mackey knew he had to tell the irate cop. "Well, you might be seeing her
sooner than you thought."
"What's that mean?"
"It means Acevedra's transferring her to Farmington."
"You're shitting me." Shane didn't find it funny. But Vic wasn't laughing.
Vic shook his head. "Sorry. There's more. With all Acevedra's P.C. bull, he's
ramming her down our throat. He thinks she's the new candidate for Strike
Team."
Shane felt like puking. He was speechless, save for a few expletives.
"And you went for it?" he finally asked, disgustedly.
Vic shrugged. "Well, I worked with her too. I know she can play by our
'rules'."
"Or lack thereof," Shane mumbled.
"I'm just saying, when I knew her, she was always on the market for a good
deal."
Shane guffed, still not amused. "Yeah, now she'd got a kid to support."
He finally sighed. "Well, I don't have to like it."
"No, but if she stays, you've got to work with her. Can you handle that?
You're not gonna let some homie pop her just because she used the Cadillac
and now she's tryin' to take the ride?"
Shane hated some of Vic's more colorful metaphors. "Of course not. If she
can hang, fine. But I'm not treating her any different because she's woman, or
because of anything else."
"Fine. Now, can we go back to work?"
Shane reluctantly nodded.
"What a rotten day."
Jade Cordova arrived at 'the barn'. She'd been a cop for 11 years; it was all
she knew. She'd learned to be as cold and as tough as any man. In Southeast
Division of the LAPD, she was known as the "Ice Bitch." It wasn't
something she was proud of deep
down, but she knew she'd earned it. Her career lately was edgy to say the least.
She'd gotten too close to getting too dirty. She didn't like that feeling, knowing
brass was watching too close. And her personal life was a mess, had been for
years. There was no solace there. All in all, her life was at the point of
becoming a real wreck. And then Acevedra, the Hispanic Captain of the
Farmington division had put in a call. The move couldn't come at a better time.
But then, there'd be Vendrell to deal with. Oh well, she figured. Better to have
to deal with him then lose her shield.
Jade was 5' 8" of mostly muscle. Of course, her curves still filled out her
jeans and tight black turtle neck sweater. Her long dark hair was pulled back
today, but loose, it curled softly around her shoulders. She was defiantly
someone people took notice of.
One of those people noticing was Detective Holland "Dutch" Wagenbaugh.
The lanky, somewhat socially inept officer had seen Jade come in. He'd noticed
her shield displayed at her hip and her shoulder holster with the .44 Glock. He
noticed how well she carried herself, like someone with good breeding. He
noticed her beautiful green eyes and her full lips. Dutch noticed a lot about
people. He just wasn't very good when it came to approaching them. But this
woman, he really really wanted to talk to her. For some reason, maybe it was
silly; he wondered what her voice sounded like. If it sounded anything like she
looked, he'd think she was a 1-900 number come to life. Not that he used those
numbers.
He stood up, almost knocking over his coffee. He smiled at her. She looked
at him like he was yesterday's left over.
"Hi, I'm Detective Wagenbaugh. Can I help you Officer-?"
"Cordova. And it's Detective. I'm looking for Captain Acevedra."
"You'll find his office right up those stairs."
She nodded and ran her tongue over the inside of her lips. "Thanks."
Dutch, along with half of the other male officers, watched her shapely rear go
up the stairs. Dutch had a feeling she could tear a guy like him up for breakfast
and have a new one by lunch. But that didn't keep him from wishing he had
the courage to ask her out.
Cordova found Acevedra and introduced herself.
"Well, I'm really glad you decided to take me up on my offer."
"It came at a good time," she explained, leaving it at that.
"Well, I'm sure you'll find that our division will keep you busy. We do some
good work here."
"So I've heard. I'm sure also that having a minority on a predominantly white
tactical team in this neighborhood will come in useful."
Acevedra shrugged. "It couldn't hurt," he played. He could see this one was
as sharp as she was beautiful.
"Well, how was Mackey with the idea?"
"He had good thins to say about you. He gets the final decision about the
Strike Team, of course, but I'm sure he'll make the right one."
Vic had told Ronnie and Lem about Jade. Shane remained silent and neither
mentioned the conversation in the parking lot. Lem was ambivalent, but
Ronnie seemed okay with it.
"She's just here to make the headlines so the department can look P C," Vic
added. "We use her when we need to, the rest of the time, she stays out of the
way."
"And you think she'll go for that plan?" Shane asked sourly. He knew just
how stubborn Jade could be.
"Eventually. If the price is right."
"But we're not gonna cut her in on anything big right?" Lem persisted. "Not
like the money train?"
Vic shook his head. "She's on a strictly need to know basis. And she doesn't
need to know about that."
Lem shrugged. "Well, yeah, I guess, if she can hang."
"She's SWAT. She can hang. She's got a lot of chemical weapons and
explosives training too. Might even come in handy."
"Oh, yeah," Shane mumbled. "She can really blow you-" Vic gave him a dirty
look. "Away," he finished.
About then, Acevedra knocked and came in followed by Jade.
"Gentlemen, Detective Cordova. She's going to ride along with you today,
see how she likes our division."
Vic came over and stuck out a hand. "Good to see you again."
She took it. "You too."
He introduced Ronnie Gardocki and Curtis "Lem" Lemansky. "And I think you know
Detective Vendrell."
Shane stayed quiet and avoided her eyes.
"Well, lets get this show on the road," Vic said. "Lets get Detective Cordova
outfitted and see if she can run with the big dogs." He smiled.
Officer Danny Sofer saw Vic and the team heading out. She noticed a
beautiful dark haired woman with them, in a vest and LAPD cap. Danny
watched with a pang of jealousy. She wondered exactly how a woman made it
to try out for Vic's team, when even she hadn't gotten her foot in the door. She
noticed Dutch watching too.
"Hey Dutch, who's that?"
Dutch shrugged. He found out a lot in a short time. "Some burn out from
SWAT that Acevedra recruited. Her name's Cordova."
Detective Claudette Wyms walked over with her morning coffee. "What's
going on here?" she asked, watching Dutch and Danny watch as the Strike
Team left. "Does anyone work around here anymore?"
Danny went back to her paperwork at the desk she was barrowing. She really
needed to talk to Vic. She was so confused about what was going on with their
on again, off again love affair. She suddenly had a thought: was Vic sleeping
with that new woman too? Is that why he'd been so distant lately? God, this
was stupid. She really had to get over him completely.
The team raided a crack house. It was a neighborhood eyesore and Vic had
planned to clean it up eventually, but he'd gotten a tip that one of the patrons
might have a line on Armadillo. That boy had gotten way too dangerous to live
and Vic knew they had to start shaking down every shit hole to find him. No
time like the present.
Vic and the team executed a perfect surround and seize maneuver; Lem and
Jade covered the back while Vic and Shane busted through the front door with
a battering ram while Ronnie covered them. It was a clean bust of five cracked
out druggies. Ronnie called in for patrol units to transport their prisoners.
Vic singled out the one called Chupa, a middle aged, multi tattooed ex- con
who might know how to find Armadillo Quintero. He shoved the felon against
the wall, making sure Cordova wasn't in the room. No need to get her in to this
too deep.
"Easy ese," Chupa complained in a drugged out haze.
"Don't ese me. I hear you know how to find Armadillo Quintero. I want to
hear more."
"Man, that dude's a bad scene."
"You know how to find him or not? You're a three time looser you're going
down to the Bay for another stint unless you manage to sneak out the back
door while I wasn't looking. Armadillo?" Mackey hissed.
"Man, he's holed up. He got hurt bad, Burned. Maybe my cousin took him
some medicine, maybe a week or two back."
"Maybe your cousin got a name? An address?"
"I don' remember so good."
Vic shoved a hundred dollar bill in his dirty hand. "Memory getting clearer?"
"Yeah, okay. My primo Ramos, shacked up with his old lady in the
Neighborhood, you know. He took some stuff to Armadillo. A motel on
Lorca. The Luminaria. But that was about two weeks ago. I don know if
Armadillo was still there, no?"
"Yeah, okay. Beat it." He pushed the Mexican toward the back door. Lem let
him pass and shuffle away out the alley.
"He say anything?" Lem asked.
"Not much. A maybe."
_____________________________________________________________
After work, Vic met Jade in the parking lot.
"Well, how was your first day with us?"
Jade smiled, one of the first all day. She'd always been able to let her guard
down with Vic, just a little. "I'm impressed."
"Good. How about we get a drink and talk shop?"
She nodded. "Sounds good."
They went to a small bar where cops usually didn't frequent. They sat at a corner table. Vic ordered a Heineken and Jade ordered a Coke.
Vic was a little surprised. He'd know Jade to drink men under the table. She
noticed him noticing.
"I gave it up," she said, shrugging.
He nodded. "So, I read your record. You've kinda been skatin' on thin ice
over at the beach."
She agreed. "That's why I was a little surprised when Acevedra called."
"He needed a token."
"I know."
"You're okay with that?"
"If I get more out of it than he does."
Vic smiled. It never did take her long to get to the point. "Look, we've kinda
had eyes on us to, so we're playing it cool now. Small stuff, you know. But
when the time is right, we'll be getting a good spread."
"And Acevedra? How much is he involved?"
"He wants to be a politician. He just wants to look good. As long as we make
him do that, he turns his head. That's all."
She nodded. "And I'm just there to continue to make him look good. I get
my name in lights, he shines, and the rest of the time I stay in the shadow?
Right?"
Vic shrugged. "That's pretty much how it plays. You can live with that?"
"Just don't let me get bored."
"You bored today?"
She laughed a little. "No."
"Then it'll be fine. What about you and Shane? You gonna kill each other?"
She sighed. "I hope not."
"He got the subpoena today."
"It's my sister Vic, She has custody of Carly. She's the one responsible for the
subpoena, not me."
"So you really had a kid?" ] She nodded. "She's two and a half."
"Why isn't she with you?"
Jade shifted in her seat. "It's kinda a long story."
"Give me the short version."
"I was drinking a lot. I spent most of the pregnancy in rehab. I got clean, but
I couldn't stay that way. Lisa took her away. She's been after me to get child
support. When I told her no, she started this crap. She had three guys
subpoenaed for DNA, including Shane."
"But it's not his, right?"
Jade lowered her eyes and shook her head.
"Look, I'm not trying to be a prick here, I just need to know that if you're on
my team, both you and Shane can work together. I need everyone in the same
park."
"I know Vic. I promise, you won't have any trouble on my end. As soon as I
can get Shane to talk to me, I'll explain everything."
"Oh, he'll talk to you alright. I'll make sure."
"How about you Vic?" Jade wanted to change the subject. " How are things
at home? The kids?"
"The kids are good." He shrugged. "Corrine and me are separated."
"Sorry. That's got to be rough."
"I miss the kids a lot."
"I miss Carly too. I only see her on weekends."
"It's hard, I work so much."
She nodded in agreement. "I want to try and get custody back. I've been
sober for almost a year. But I'd have to move into Burglary or Missing Persons
if I get her back. Something that doesn't take as much time and energy."
"Trust me, if you get your kid back, it'd be worth it."
"Yeah," she agreed. "That's what I'm hoping. It takes money too. A lot of
money."
He knew about that too. He had a detective agency bill running up into the
thousands even as they spoke. "We take care of each other in Strike. Whatever
you need, if we can do it, it's as good as done."
"I appreciate that Vic."
"Look, something else we need to talk about. Did Acevedra mention
anything about the team being Green lit?"
She raised her eyebrow and shook her head. "I can't say as he did."
"We're trying to run down a real bad dude. He had his own brother killed.
Raped a little girl. He's trying to take over the drug business down here; the
business that we had a good handle on- we couldn't get a handle on Armadillo.
He's more than a little pissed about us pushing him out. He put a hit out on the
team."
She nodded and looked thoughtful. "Well, you just push harder then, don't
you?"
Vic smiled. "I thought you might see it that way." He sipped the last of his
beer. "Seriously, if you're with us, watch you back. All the time."
"I'll get a new mirror."
_____________________________________________________________ Danny went home to her apartment. She was beat from the long day. She
Wished she had something else to do with her time but work and go home and
sleep, lately alone more and more. She'd seen Vic leaving with that new
Detective, Cordova. Again, Danny had done a slow burn. She knew she had no
ties on Vic, but yet, she didn't want anyone else to have them either. She knew
it wasn't fair, but hell, the whole thing wasn't fair to anyone. Maybe it was just
all this crap with the Arab woman. It was getting to her more and more. She
was afraid of what she might do if it didn't stop.
Danny was going to shower and go to bed, but suddenly, something stopped
her in her tracks. She happened to glance at the calander. What day was it? The
18th?
"Oh my God," Danny said outloud. She put some serious thought into it and
suddenly realized she was six days late. No, this wasn't ahppeneing. She and Vic
had always been careful. And lately, there hadn't been anyone else. Okay, calm
down, she told herself. It was just all this stress, that's all, screwing up her body.
"That's all," she repeated. But she couldn't help dwelling on it for the rest of
the night.
The next day at the barn was no different. Except everyone knew there was a
new kid in town- and that she was Vic's 'kid'. The auditor, Laney, was very
pleased with Acevedra and spent a good ten minutes in his office telling him
what good things she thought could happen for him because of this move.
Jade made "friends" quickly. She was in the break room getting coffee when
Dutch approached.
"Good morning," he said with a friendly smile. "I thought I'd be the first to
welcome you to "the barn"."
Jade gave him a hint of a polite smile. "Thanks." She stirred her coffee
vigorously.
"Don't judge us all by the way those guys act. We're not all-"
"A bunch of macho dicks on legs looking for a new lay?" she finished.
Dutch was taken aback. He'd never had a woman speak to him quite like
that, at least not a fellow officer.
"Look, I don't date cops I work with. I don't sleep with married men. I don't
blow my way to the top. So which ever angle you were thinking of using,
don't."
And with that and a shake of her long apple scented hair, she left Dutch
standing alone and beat down.
"God I want that woman," he muttered under his breath.
Wyms saw the way her partner looked at the new girl's ass when she went
back to the Strike Team office. He looked like a puppy that longed for the
attention of its master, even if the only attention it got was a kick in the ribs.
"Give it up son," she advised him. "That one is way out of your league. And
considering the company she keeps." she didn't finish the sentence. "Come
on, we've got work to do."
Vic assigned a team to watch the Luminaria Motel. It wasn't much of a lead,
but it could be something.
Shane and Jade sat in the Chevy, watching the motel. It had been two hours
already, and neither had spoken more than a few words.
"So, you think Vic put us together to see if we'd kill each other?" Jade finally
asked out loud.
Shane shrugged. "Probably."
"Look, about this paternity thing, I really am sorry. It's Lisa, my sister, who
wanted it. She has custody of Carly. That's why she wants the money. If I had
Carly back now, none of this would be happening."
" I took the damn test. Gave a whole vial of blood. You always
did go for the jugular."
"I really never planned for any of this."
"So who is the father anyway?"
Jade shifted uncomfortable in the seat. "I was drinking a lot back then. I had
problems. Problems with booze, problems with men."
Shane saw that Jade was really telling the truth. He understood now that she
might not even have a clue as to who she'd slept with when. He even felt a guilt
pang, because he knew that she hadn't been drinking that bad until they'd
gotten together-the late nights, the partying, the fighting-had that all led up to
this? He decided he might as well keep his mouth shut before it got him into
more trouble, like usual.
"Well, anyway, truce, okay?" he stuck out his hand.
Jade took it and gave him a hint of a smile. "Thanks. I remember we did used
to be friends." The touch sparked more than a few embers in her memory.
"Don't push it lady," Shane said, smirking, so she'd know he was joking.
Danny was distracted while she and Julien were out on patrol. He noticed and
had questioned her about it. He figured it was the fact that the Arab lady was
still harassing her that laid so heavy on his partner's mind.
"When ever you want to talk, I'm available to listen," he offered politely.
Danny shrugged. "Really, it's nothing." But she knew it might not be nothing.
It might be something. It might be something she really needed to talk to Vic
about. She'd wait a few more days and then.well, she'd just wait and try to
stop thinking about it.
Acevedra had been at his campaign headquarters earlier and had not liked
what he'd seen. He'd been after his patrol units to clean up the prostitutes
along Lincoln Ave, where his headquarters was located, but today it was worse
then ever. Male and female prostitutes solicited across the street and the
captain was not happy. As soon as he got back to the Barn, he tracked down
Vic.
"I want a hard crack down on the prostitution on Lincoln, starting today," he
told Vic and Lem.
"You want me to pull my guys off cases to work the hookers?" Vic asked, as if
the Captain's request was really putting him out.
"That's exactly what I want. You have a new female officer. Use her. I want her
out there and I want a sting operation set up immediately. As soon as the johns
see that they're going to get busted, maybe it'll get quieter down there."
"At least until elections are over?" Vic added with a smile. "Just get on it," Acevedra said with irritation.
Vic called in Shane and Jade, who'd been on the motel all day.
"Anything?" Vic asked when they got in.
Shane shook his head. "No sign of any of his people or Armadillo. I think he's
long gone from that rat hole."
"It was worth a try. Listen, Acevedra wants us to set up a sting on Lincoln, by
his political office. Bust some johns." Vic cocked a thumb at Jade. "He wants
you to hit the street. Lets get this thing moving."
Vic called Danny upstairs, and she was immediately reminded she needed to
talk to him.
"Vic, I'm glad you called," Danny said, coming up the stairs. "I need to talk to
you about something."
"Can it wait?" Vic asked. "I've got a street assignment for you, if you want it."
Danny was torn between her desire to get back to the street and advance in
her career and her personal worries. "Yeah, okay."
He told her about the sting operation. Danny was thrilled to get an
opportunity, but she was leery of working with 'the new girl'.
It only took a short time to set up the operation. They set up a mobile
booking station, on a rooftop near the area where Jade and Danny would be
'working'. Due to regulations, she was only allowed to wear 'street' clothes, but
to all the opinion of the Strike Team, that was enough. When Jade returned
from changing, she wore tight jeans and black heels, and a green tight tank top.
"Damn, where'd you hide your gun?" Vic asked.
She smiled. "You don't want to know."
Danny also arrived then; she wore a white tee shirt and black jeans. She too
looked hot.
The two women hit the street. The plan was that if a potential customer
approached, they were to get a price quote and exactly what for. Then they'd
tell the guy to meet around the corner in the alley, where Shane and Lem
waited to arrest him and run him up the stairs to Vic and Ronnie, who'd book
him. Ronnie even had the computer set up to make the booking go quick. Both
Danny and Jade wore wires and the entire team was connected so everyone
could hear each other. If there was trouble, the women were to say the word
"gringo" and the entire team would move in.
Danny and Jade walked together for a bit.
"So you're from SWAT?" Danny asked.
Jade nodded, popping her gum loudly.
"How's that?"
"Rough," Jade admitted. "A lot of guys don't warm up to a woman on their turf real quick."
"I can imagine. Was it hard to get in?"
"Yeah. At first." Jade wasn't willing to admit to anyone the things she'd had to do to get accepted.
"But you knew Vic from back then?"
Jade nodded.
That was all Danny asked, while she knew the entire team was listening.
After a while, the women split up. Danny got her first 'customer'.
"Hey red," a guy called from inside the car that just pulled up. Danny
approached, but not too close.
"Yeah? You want a date?"
"Maybe. How much?"
"Depends on what you're looking for?"
"Just a quickie. I've got to get to work." "Just straight sex? It'll be 40."
"40? That's a lot. How about 20?"
"20? Yeah, okay. Pull around the corner into the alley," Danny told him, feeling like a rather cheap date.
He did and right into Shane and Lemonhead. He was arrested for solicitation
and Vic took him up to the roof.
Jade got the next collar. The guy was driving a city vehicle and looked like a
plain wrap cop car.
"Hey darlin' how about some company?" a balding man asked.
"What're you a cop?" she shot back. She used a heavy Latin accent.
"No, I work for the City Transit Department." "You look like a cop, vato. I don't date no cops."
"Really, I'm not a cop. I'll give you 50 for some company?"
Jade approached the car passenger window. "Look, I'm working. I ain't
looking for chit chat."
"Yeah, I know. Fifty bucks, I get company and you get fucked? Okay?" He grinned.
Jade tried to keep from rolling her eyes. "Turn the corner into that alley. So no one catches us in your car."
The City employee willingly complied. And Shane happily pulled him out of his car and snapped on plastic zip cuffs. Vic led him away.
Little was the Strike Team or the women to know that they too were being watched. In a car in another alley, where he had a view of the street, was a young man with a badly burned face. Armadillo Quintero and his driver
watched the operation in motion. Quintero was especially interested in the
woman, the one with long dark hair. She was a new addition to Mackey's
playthings. A new beautiful addition that he wanted to find out more about.
After some time of watching the woman, Armadillo signaled his driver to leave.
He'd look into the woman soon enough.
In four hours, Jade and Danny raked them in. But it was getting slower now, and the overtime was about up.
"One more and I'm ready to call it a night," Jade said, knowing Vic was listening.
A guy in a black sedan with dark tinted windows pulled up then. Danny was just up the street.
"Hey baby. Hop in and I'll show you a good time."
Jade went as far as the window. "What'd you got in mind?"
The guy looked well to do, in a suit and tie.
"A good time," he repeated.
"I'm pretty expensive," she told him.
"I've got cash," he said. "Now get in." " It'll be 50 for straight sex, 30 for a blow," she told him.
He laughed. "Just get in puta,"
"Around the corner, in the alley."
He suddenly leaned out and grabbed her arm. "I don't think so bitch!" He tried to pull her in.
Shane and Lem could see what was happening and Lem gassed the sedan out of the alley. Shane ran toward the car, as did Danny. Vic was flying down the stairs.
The guy attempted to pull Jade into the car and step on the gas at the same time. Lem blocked him in with the unmarked car and the driver was forced to brake quickly.
Shane was at the drivers' door already, while Danny was behind Jade with her gun drawn.
Shane ripped open the door and yanked out the surprised driver, who then had to let go of Jade. Shane slammed him face down on the pavement and shoved his knee into the guy's back.
"Ain't no way to talk to a lady, prick!" he shouted, while cuffing the guy.
After they had mopped up the scene and Vic escorted the john to be booked, Shane and Danny hovered over Jade.
"Are you okay?" Danny asked.
Jade nursed her bruised arm and shoulder, where it had hit the car frame while she was trying to pull her arm free.
"I'll be fine."
"You sure?" Shane asked.
Jade looked at him, surprised at his behavior with the perp. "Yeah," she said, after a moment.
Back at the Barn, Vic was able to report that the operation had been successful, with 12 busts in 4 hours. Jade cleaned up in the ladies room, not ready to admit that she was a little shaken from the rough bust.
Shane went to use the bathroom, the men's room still defunct, and walked in while she was bent over the sink.
"Sorry," he said, and was going to retreat, but then came in instead.
"Hey, are you really okay?"
She looked at him again, the way she had earlier. "Yeah. I'll be fine." She cleared her threat. "You kinda surprised me out there."
"I was just doing my job. Reacting." " You reacted real fast. That's all. I can handle my self, you know."
"I know. I just." he didn't know what to say. "Jesus, Jade, you think that I don't care? You think I can just put all that time behind me?"
"You seemed to do a good job of it three years ago."
"Lets don't forget who left who. You ran out on me, remember? You wanted to prove to the world you didn't need nobody. You wanted freedom."
"Freedom?" she asked, raising her voice a little. "You were pretty damn free while we were together, as I remember. Pretty free with every fresh ass that walked by."
Shane shook his head. "Look, Jade, I don't want to fight with you anymore. I think we had enough of that too. I'm just saying.Oh hell, forget it." He turned and walked out again.
Jade didn't want to admit to herself or anyone else that she realized Shane still cared. Or that she still cared too.
Danny finally caught up with Vic, just as he was about to leave for the night. "Vic, can we talk now, just for a minute?"
Vic got into his truck, keeping a barrier between him and Danny. "Yeah, okay. A minute."
Danny looked around to see if anyone else was around earshot in the dark parking lot. "I've kinda got a situation that maybe might pertain to you. To us."
Vic shook his head. "I don't understand."
"Vic I'm late," she hissed.
"What?" he asked, though he'd heard just fine. "How late?"
"A week."
Vic shrugged. "Well, it's probably something else. I was careful."
Danny nodded. "I know, but, well, I was just kind of-"
"Did you get a test?"
She shook her head. "No. I was -"
"Well get one. Then let me know, okay?"
God he was being a prick. But what had she expected? Love and support from her married lover?
"Yeah, you're right. I'll get one tonight. I shouldn't have said anything until I was sure. I'm sorry Vic."
She turned to go, but Vic caught her arm.
"Danny, look. Don't be upset, okay? I'm sure it'll be okay. I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" He gave her one of his smiles that had always been able to make her melt.
"Yeah, sure Vic. Tomorrow." _____________________________________________________________
Shane went home with his mind in turmoil. How could that woman have him in such an uproar? Wasn't his life complicated enough without having Jade in it? Jade and a kid?
Shane's house was a small one story two bedroom in a good enough part of the neighborhood that didn't warrant bars on all the windows. It wasn't neat and tidy by any sense of the word. He had laundry strewn all over, but it was sorted: clean on the couch, dirty on the floor. His kitchen had a few dishes in the sink, but mostly he ate out and the take out food containers ended up in the garbage. His refrigerator was stocked mostly with beer, several different kinds-Budweiser for general purposes, Bud Light for workdays, Corona for when he felt like drinking that Mexican shit, and a bottle of Jack Daniels, for times like this.
He poured a shot, unbuttoned his shirt and went to put on the stereo. He had invested in a good system and took pride in it and his CD collection. Every album from Lynard Skynard and George Throughgood, most from Elvis and the Rolling Stones. Country CDs from Hank Williams Jr and Travis Tritt to Waylon Jennings; His collection was displayed in four floor to ceiling CD racks on the same wall with the stereo.
He put on the last one he'd been listening to. Skynard.
Shane downed the Jack and followed it with a bottle of Bud chaser. He lit a fresh cigarette and moved some jeans over so he could sit on the couch. He pulled a shoebox from under the coffee table (which was being used for a gun cleaning station). He dug through some old photos in the box. A lot were from Vic, pictures of him with Vic's family, softball tournaments and that. But he found the one he was looking for.
Jade was wearing this skintight tee shirt with a low-neck line that enhanced those perfect tits she kept hidden these days. In the photo, he and Jade were arm in arm, each holding a beer. They had both been lit, but looked realistically happy. It had been a long time before he screwed up. How in the hell had he managed that?
He knew how. By letting his damn pride get in the way. That and his appetite for other women. He and Jade were too much alike back then. They both liked to play way too much to settle down. But now, as he got older, Shane started to realize that maybe letting her get away might have been the biggest mistake he'd made. And maybe that kid, if she ended up being his, might not be such a bad thing. Shane sat, drank, smoked cigarettes and listened to his music while looking at those old pictures until late into the night.
".Tuesday's gone with the wind." moaned Skynard. ".My baby's gone with the wind.train roll on"
The next day the Barn was a flurry of activity. The busts from last night's
Strike Team operation were a success and had turned up two interesting things:
the City Transit worker they had busted was actually head of Operations of
City Transit and his arrest had made front page headlines; second, the guy who
had roughed up Jade matched up to a suspect Dutch and Claudette had been
looking for in a string of prostitute murders. After they searched his car, they
found evidence to link him to their case.
Dutch found Jade as soon as he had a chance. "That was a great arrest," he told her. "This guy's been offing hookers for a couple of months and we never could pin him down."
"Happy I could do your job for you," jade said abruptly.
"Why do you do that?" Dutch asked, in a ponderous tone.
"What?"
"Beat men down. Are you that afraid of yourself that you can't let in a couple of kind words, or be decent to someone who's just trying to give you a compliment?"
Jade didn't like being analyzed. She turned to go.
"It's a defense mechanism, you know," Dutch added. "You should really ask yourself what you're more afraid of: letting someone in, or letting yourself out."
Jade didn't turn around, afraid her eyes would reveal the truth. "Thanks for the compliment," she managed, before walking off. Dutch smiled half-heartedly. He knew he'd pushed that chip off her shoulder, just a little.
Armadillo Quintero let himself in to Jade's two-bedroom apartment easily.
After finding out where she lived, the rest was easy. He made himself at home,
going through her things, her kitchen cabinets, her CDs, her closets. He l lingered to smell her clothing. Wonderful. Like Jasmine and Honey, some like fresh green apple. He discovered that scent was her shampoo and conditioner when he went through her bathroom.
He looked at her pictures. Most were of a little girl with those same green eyes. Her daughter, he presumed. He took some things: a camisole from her drawer, a bottle of perfume, a picture of Jade and Carly, and a piece of fruit from the kitchen. Oh this woman would be his trophy to prove to Mackey that he, Armadillo, was truly great.
It was Danny's day off. She hoped it would be a good one. She hadn't stopped last night to buy the pregnancy test; she was too upset from her encounter with Vic. So she set out early in the morning to do it. She walked nervously down the isle at Walgreen's. She aimlessly threw some other items in her cart, hairspray, a brush, a bottle of Aspirin, and a jar of peanuts. This was silly, she told herself. She was a grown woman. She was certainly capable and entitled to buy a pregnancy test if she wanted to.
She found what she was looking for and went to get in line. She never noticed who was also in line until she'd put her items on the counter, the test box with it's bright blue lettering resting right there on top.
"Good morning Danny," Claudette Wyms said from behind her, casually eyeing the counter.
Danny though she was going to go through the floor right there. "Oh, hi Detective. You're, uh, out early this morning."
Claudette smiled as the checker ran up Danny's items. "I find shopping easier at this time of day."
Danny hurriedly handed her card to the cashier who was slowly bagging the items. Danny knew Wyms had seen the pregnancy test. Oh well, she didn't know anything else. She couldn't. She didn't know weather Danny had a boyfriend or not. Did she?
"Well, se ya," Danny said quickly taking her bag from the cashier.
"Have a good day. Good luck," Claudette said.
Danny could have died as she ducked out of the store.
Danny wasn't the only one finding out about tests. Shane, who was on his day off as well, was trying to cure his hangover with a beer when his phone rang.
"Yeah?" he answered groggily.
"Detective Vendrell?"
"Yeah. Who's this?"
"This is Mike, from the lab, remember?"
Shane, when he'd gone to take the DNA test, had been real sure that's he'd never find anything out except from the slow moving law firm, and then only if he was about to be slapped with a back due child support court order. So he'd done what came naturally to Shane: he'd paid off a lab tech. He'd paid to find out the results of the test as soon as it came back.
"Okay, yeah, I remember you. You got those DNA test results?"
"Yeah. I think you'll be hearing from the law firm. The test results for you were labeled "inconclusive"."
"What the hell is that?" Shane sat up and rubbed his head. "What does that mean?"
"It means there were enough DNA matches from you to not rule you out, although you were only a 70 percent match. But the other two test subjects were less than 40 percent. You won't be ruled out unless there's another test subject who has a better than 90 percent match."
"I though these things were accurate!"
"They are accurate. It just means that you're not ruled out. It doesn't mean you're the biological father. But unless a closer match is found, that law firm is gonna come hunt you."
"Great!" Shane slammed down the phone. He figured the hundred dollars he'd paid Mike was enough thanks. He pulled on some clothes. He was going to give Jade a piece of his mind, once and for all. He was sick of her games.
Shane had every intention of going to the Barn looking for Jade, but he didn't have to. As he was getting ready to leave, she pulled up. When she knocked on the door, Shane jerked it open and pulled her inside.
Jade was taken by surprise. "Dammit, Shane you scared the hell outta me-" she began.
"I just got off the phone with the lab about that test. You wanna tell me what the hell is up? You wanna tell me why I'm not "ruled out" as your baby's dad?"
Jade looked at the floor. Her concrete walled exterior shell was crumbling.
"I.I don't know."
"What do you know? Know where to find another candidate with closer matching DNA? That'd be a good start!"
Jade had tears in her eyes. "I can't!"
"Why the hell not? You picked three out of a hat, why not three more! What, they gonna have to test the whole friggin' Vice squad in Southwest?"
Jade slapped him hard across the face. Shane caught her arm, his cheek stinging.
"That it, you ball the entire department after me?!" he yelled.
"I was a drunk Shane!" she yelled back. "When I wasn't drunk or stoned, all I could think about was you! You bastard! What did you think was going to happen!"
It dawned on Shane just then. She really didn't know who the father was. She might not have any idea. Jade saw the surprise and realization on his face.
She wiped at her face. "I shouldn't have come here," she said, and turned to go.
Shane caught her at the door. "I'm sorry," he said, almost inaudibly.
"I bet that was hard to say," she said, softly and without turning.
"You'll never know."
Jade turned, her tears making Shane's face a blur.
"Don't cry. I hate it when you cry."
"That's why I never cry. Not anymore."
The world be dammed, Shane pulled Jade to him and kissed her hard, his hand caught in her hair. She resisted at first, but like always, she couldn't resist for long. He pushed her against the closed door. She wrapped her arms around him. The passion was as strong as it had ever been.
_____________________________________________________________
Vic kept his word. He called Danny. As much as he didn't want to. Wasn't this just great. This was the last complication he needed in his messed up life right now. He sure as hell didn't need a knocked up patrol cop on his mind as much as she was. He needed to get back his family, that's what he needed.
Danny answered on the second ring. Vic was on his cell, at a stoplight.
"Hey, it's me. You okay?"
"Yeah." She didn't mention Claudette. "I took the test. The timer's about to go off."
Vic heard a ding in the background. His timing never failed to be perfect. "I'm gonna check it."
Vic didn't breathe for a minute.
"Vic?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"It's negative. I'm not pregnant."
Vic sighed. "Oh, well, good, right? Yeah, that's good."
"I'm real sorry I scared you. I shouldn't have said anything, it's just I was so upset."
"Look, Danny, we're friends," Vic pulled into traffic. "You can come to me, okay? But, this other.I mean, I'm trying to work things out with my wife.you understand, right?"
Danny skipped a beat. "Right. Listen, thanks Vic. I'll see you at work, okay?"
"Yeah, sure." He hung up. Well that was a close call he hadn't needed. He'd remember in the future to make sure his raincoat was buttoned.
_____________________________________________________________ Vic got to the barn and discovered Jade was absent. He knew Shane was off, but he was expecting Jade. Lem said she hadn't called in and Ronnie hadn't heard from her either. He told them to stay at the barn and cover for him and for Jade if Acevedra asked.
Vic drove to her apartment when he couldn't reach her by phone. Vic, already upset, was furious when he found her door ajar. With his gun drawn, he cautiously entered. He could tell someone had been there. He didn't know who until he got to the kitchen. The stove was on, burner red-hot. A picture of Jade had been taken out of the frame and burned on the range. Burned just enough to melt the surface and make burner marks across the front of it.
Mackey shut off the range with a fury. Armadillo! He knew about Jade and where she lived! He maybe already had her hostage!
Vic ran out of the apartment, hitting the speed dial for Shane's number. He cussed when the line sounded a busy signal.
He drove furiously to Shane's place. He saw the Corvette in the drive, but he didn't know that was Jade's. All he knew was that possibly one of his team was hit by Armadillo.
Mackey pounded on Shane's door, as he used his key to open it.
"Shane!" he yelled, but stopped short in his tracks when he saw the clothing littering the floor; not just Shane's usual litter of clothing. A woman's shirt and bra, two pair of boots, one man's one woman's.Vic got the idea. But too late. Shane was already up, a sheet around his waist, his gun in hand.
"Vic?! What?"
Vic took off his sunglasses and ran a hand over his head. "I hate to ask, but is Jade with you?"
"Yeah? Why? What's going on?" he knew it was serious for Vic to look so upset and come into his house so abruptly.
"Get her out here."
Shane went back into the bedroom, and in another minute returned, now in jeans, with Jade, in a bathrobe.
"Vic, I meant to get back to the barn-" she began.
"It's not about work. Someone was in your apartment."
"What?"
"When you didn't come in and I couldn't get you on the phone, I went to your place. Armadillo's been there. He burned a picture."
"What the hell? How'd he find out about her?" Shane asked.
Vic could only shake his head. "It's obvious. He's watching us. Not the other way around." Will Shane and Jade keep it together? Will Armadillo make the next move? Will Vic Strike back? Stay tuned!