It's the first year of Sonny and Rico's partnership, and a routine undercover meet goes bad.
Warnings for violence, occasionally more brutal than the typical episode. Takes place after Golden Triangle in season one. Gen.1. Heat
Sweat trickled down the skin of Rico's back between his shoulder blades,
tickling him. Days like this, the hardest part about being under was
staying still, staying cool when all he wanted to do was rip off his jacket
and take a damn shower. Any fidget, any sign of nerves or distraction could
scare off the twitchy suckers they dealt with, could get him or Sonny blown
away before he could blink.
The thing about Miami - it was hot. Sonny didn't seem to mind so much,
but hell - he didn't know any better. The man had never lived anywhere else,
'cept for that short jaunt in Nam, which could rival the Sunshine State for
humidity. And the lieutenant - well, Rico had yet to see the man even break
a sweat.
Ricardo Tubbs was a Bronx boy, born and raised. He'd thought he'd had
his fair share of scorchers, but in New York the heat even at its worst
never lasted more than a few weeks before it broke. But Miami - man, Miami
was going to kill him. The heat was relentless, it wrapped you up tight and
squeezed.
At first he'd liked it - the laid back contrast to New York's bluster, the change from
the frigid wind and snow to sand and green water. He hadn't missed the snow
a bit. But man, in Miami the weather never changed. Made him nervous,
made him watch the skies for a storm to break up the perfect blue of the
damn sky.
Still, he didn't go back north. Didn't even cross his mind until he
realized it had been months since he'd thought of Brooklyn as home. Despite
the heat that threatened to hold him immobile some days, Miami was in his
blood now. The alien brightness, the cheery tropical fascade that covered
layer upon layer of filth and decadence fascinated him. Half the time he
felt like a stowaway in some exotic land.
Didn't matter though - even if he'd wanted to he couldn't go back to New
York. Not and be a cop. Not after what he'd pulled. By all rights the
Miami squad should have kicked his ass outta the state, not given him a job
(and a promotion at that), partnered him with the best detective they had,
and set him up with the wheels and threads to support his free-wheeling
cover.
Sometimes it still blew his mind.
Today Burnett was doing the talking, and that was fine with Rico. Talking
would take too much damn effort. All Rico had to do was stand back and look
intimidating, rich, and ready to deal. He leaned back against the hot metal
of the caddie and watched his partner from behind his shades.
There was an edge to Sonny's voice that made Rico want to get this meet
over with so they could get the hell out. Sonny had been burning fumes for
the last week, and Rico didn't need the lieutenant to tell him to keep an
eye on his partner. Castillo had given them that look yesterday, the look
Rico knew meant they'd be pulled off the case if everything didn't stay
smelling minty fresh.
That'd be fine with Rico. He hadn't liked this one from the start, but he
trusted Sonny's instincts, so he'd gone along. Sonny Crockett was one of
the best damn undercover cops he'd ever worked with. It was unnerving,
sometimes, how easy being Burnett was to Sonny. Burnett was Sonny - Sonny
hardened, with his ideals and his heart scorched away. Rico never felt that
comfortable as Ricardo Cooper. He knew COoper didn't go deep enough in him,
so he kept everything on the surface. It had worked so far. He didn't know
if he wanted to know Cooper that closely. Didn't know if he could.
Burnett laughed at something their mark said, and Rico refocussed his
attention on the deal going down. Sonny glanced his way, smirking, but his
eyes were sharp. There was something Rico was missing about this whole set
up, and he had to cross his arms over his chest to keep from reaching for
his gun. De Soto was too sure of himself. Burnett and Cooper were supposed
to have the upper hand in this deal, but de Soto was acting like they'd
handed him the keys to the city. The dealer smiled big and wide, showing a
line of even white teeth as he shook Burnett's hand, as if they were sealing
a real estate deal, not a contract for 4 million dollars worth of South
America's finest export. He ignored the glares of his own goons and gave
Burnett a friendly pat on the shoulder. Like Burnett was some rookie he was
proud of.
Rico straightened up and let his arms fall to his side. He didn't like it.
Sonny had pushed too hard for this one, pushed everyone until even Gina lost
her temper with him. He didn't know why Castillo hadn't yanked Sonny's
chain. He'd just told Sonny not to move on de Soto until they got the name
of his supplier and got him on tape. Then he'd turned his attention to the
closed folder on his desk, dismissing them without a word.
Sometimes Castillo made Rico crazy.
De Soto was leaving. One of his goons held the door to his town car open
while the other two watched Burnett. They seemed to have forgotten about
Cooper. Gravel crunched behind him and Rico half-turned, not wanting to
take his attention away from his partner. He had time to be aware of a blur
heading toward his face and then everything ... just... stopped.