Shawn Spencer had arrived to the police station much earlier than usual that morning. Well, if you could call 10AM early…
For some reason unknown, his best friend Gus chose not to accompany him to it. That annoying thing he called his 'real' job always came up between them. Shawn couldn't understand the concept of working in the same place for more than a year, doing something as boring as bringing people coffee, sorting files or answering the office phone Maybe that's why he never kept a job for too long. Except his current one, of course. Pretending to be a psychic and working with the police was always exciting, and he has been at it for three years now, along with Gus. Well, most of the time.
So, he was pleasantly surprised to get a call from the chief, calling him in for something rather important. Shawn could only guess what it was. Maybe a wild animal was on loose in the city, or it was a bank robbery, or - his personal favorite - murder. Possibly the combination of all three?
Whatever it was, it seemed to be rather special, as chief Vick urged him to come as soon as possible. None of the police officers in the stations were paying more attention to him than usual, which meant they probably weren't in on the case. A solo assignment.
He grinned and rubbed his hands together, pondering once again what it could be.

So he was surprised to find that chief Vick wasn't alone in her office. The department's Head and Junior detectives were also inside.
Juliet O'Hara, the junior detective, sat in the chair across from the chief herself, her pretty blond head slightly tilted as she listened to her.
Carlton Lassiter, the head detective, chose not to sit. He stood, leaning against the wall, slight agitation showing on his face. Whatever the chief was telling them, he wasn't happy about it.

Shawn smiled. The presence of the junior detective was always a pleasant thing, though he wished he could say the same about the head detective. The latter has obviously noticed him looking trough the office window, as he rolled his eyes in annoyance and opened the door. "Well don't just stand there, Spencer, we've been waiting for you to show up for an hour now."

"I am so sorry to have kept you waiting but… Hi Jules… the spirits have told me that I will need rest for this one. Yet, they hadn't told me what this all was about." Curiosity showed on his face as he sat down on the unoccupied chair next to Juliet's, who greeted him with one of her warm smiles before turning back to chief Vick again.

"Mr. Spencer, I am glad you could make it." The chief began. Lassiter snorted in disagreement, but Shawn took no notice of it. "What we are dealing here is unlike anything you have seen before."

Shawn and Juliet both perked up, and Lassiter groaned silently. The chief has told him he wouldn't be on the case, but she did tell him she'd need his partner, detective O'Hara, for it. Of course, they all had to wait for Shawn to arrive until the chief could finally say what it was. Lassiter was instructed to close the blinds as soon as Shawn came in, which he did. They needed shelter from curious eyes.

"It's a human trafficking case, and I am going to need you to work the best you can on it." The chief explained.

Shawn and Juliet shared an excited glance, and Juliet's eyes wandered off to Lassiter again. She felt awful, working on a case he wasn't allowed to work on for some unknown reason. She felt like she was ditching him.

"It is suspected that a wealthy couple right here in Santa Barbara owns a large house which is used as a shelter for the victims of human trafficking. The exact number of people they are holding captured in it is unknown, though we know that there are more than thirty for sure."

Shawn looked at her questioningly. "And where do I and my psychic powers come in? Do you need me to find their exact location, estimate the exact number…" He trailed off.

The chief gave him a half-hearted smile. "No. Not exactly. I have chosen you and detective O'Hara to work on it based on your performances while going undercover."

"Now wait a minute, why can't I work on it as well?" Lassiter's annoyance seemed to have reached a very high level, as he dared interrupt the chief. He still didn't understand why a psychic would be more qualified than him to work on one of the biggest busts in the last decade.

"I have taken you into consideration, detective Carlton." The chief answered simply, though Shawn noticed she was trying hard not to bark at him and put him back in his place. "I simply believe Mr. Spencer has more experience going undercover than you do, and I apologize if I've mislead you. Now, I would like you to please exit my office and start working on reports of cases from the last week."

Lassiter bit his tongue, trying hard not to talk back, but deep down he knew it was true. Undercover wasn't his thing, anyway. He preferred stakeouts. "Yes, ma'm." He answered as he headed towards the door. A few moments later, the door behind him closed, and the three people were left alone.

"Now, an old friend of mine who happens to own a house right across the street from theirs has volunteered to 'lend' it to us for this investigation. He's taking a 6-months-long vacation in France with his new fiancée." Said the chief.

Shawn whistled, envying the man the chief spoke of. Big house and a new fiancée every 4 months seemed like the perfect life. He did, however, stop when he noticed Juliet looking at him sternly. She wanted to hear the end of it, but Chief Vick wouldn't go on until she had Shawn's attention. It was like being back in school.

"I want you two to temporarily move in as a married couple. You will report your findings every week, and keep away from your loved ones, as this could turn dangerous. You will both be paid twice more than what you usually get if everything goes as planned. Do you understand?"

Shawn and Juliet exchanged shocked glances and then looked back at the chief. They both looked as if they were going to start protesting every second now, much like little children. So, the chief leaned in and looked them dead in the eye..

"This is the biggest case our department had the honor of working on in the last couple of years, so I expect you not to mess up. If these people figure out who you are, the whole operation is a bust. And failure is not an option."