Angel
"Can you please give me the charge logbook dating back to last year, please." A short brunette stood in the station at the front desk, "Quickly." She made clear to the receptionist who scrambled away into the back office.
She took her sunglasses from her eyes, brushing them onto her head as she took her phone out to check all of the zero messages she'd received. She wasn't a morning person, hence the sunglasses and the unpleasant tone in her voice.
"April." She heard her birth name echoed behind her as she glanced around and rolled her eyes a little, "What brings you here on this fine Monday morning?" The dirty blonde haired police officer walked in.
"I got arrested last night." April, or AJ to most people turned to him. She was short, dark haired with dark eyes, tanned skin from her Puerto Rican heritage, and a smile that no one ever got to see.
"Were you really?" The man laughed a little.
"No I wasn't really, Dean." AJ shook her head and scoffed, "I'm waiting to check the arrests for my case. Goes to trial in an hour and I am unprepared." She told him as he sipped his coffee, coming in to start his shift.
"Which scum are you defending now?" Dean asked her, a long-term officer who knew her face from coming in and out of the station. He liked to tease her as did many of the officers, but she could no doubt end them all in a war of words.
"Armed robber." AJ said, "Had his reasons."
"Oh, yeah. We all have our reasons to buy a gun and point it at a poor innocent cashier man to steal money." Dean chuckled, "You got no heart, Mendez." He said.
"Whatever. Someone's gotta give the evil love." AJ shrugged, "Are we making any progress back there?!" AJ yelled, watching as the receptionist ran from side to side trying to find the logbook.
"Just a minute!" She called back to AJ who turned to Dean.
"Can anyone do their jobs properly in this station?" She asked him as Dean chuckled.
"Apparently not." Dean said, "Good luck at the trial. I hope you free the lunatic back onto the streets for us all." He winked as AJ just smiled and nodded. She was used to the attitude she got from most of the officers. She'd been brought up in such a world where she was used to being hated, sticking up for herself and only herself, and creating a life on her own. It had resulted in her shutting out a lot of people, but she didn't know how not to.
"Here you go." The receptionist rushed out, handing AJ the logbook.
"Thank you." AJ grabbed it from her, "I can take the full thing, right?" She said, "I'm really late."
"Sure." The receptionist nervously nodded.
"Great, thank you." AJ smiled, rushing off out of the station, opening up the door when she bumped into another officer, suddenly feeling scolding hot coffee down the front of her dress, "Oh my God." AJ moaned, waving her hands out, dumping her back on the ground and looking on at the coffee marks down her dress.
"Don't charge through a door at that speed then." The voice spat as AJ slowly glared up at him.
"Why am I not surprised?" AJ looked up at his stupid smiling face, "I'm at trial this morning." She moaned, trying to rummage through her bag for tissues of some sort whilst the man, another fellow officer stood with now an empty coffee cup but a smile on his face.
"Defending which scumbag?" He asked her teasingly.
"Oh, go away." AJ shook her head, not in the mood anymore as she brushed her hands down her dress, "I stink of… unsweetened coffee. Are you on a diet, Phil?" She asked him. If there was one officer which she did not get along with on any form, it was Phil Brooks, or Punk he was referred to in the work place. She thought he looked more like a criminal himself than a police officer. He always had something smart to remark with, and it was annoying that he looked drop dead gorgeous whilst doing it. She'd known him for a few years in and out of the station and she couldn't remember them having a serious or decent conversation.
"I'm not on a diet. I just respect my health." Punk told her, tossing his now empty coffee cup in the trash beside the station, "You owe me a coffee now." He said, running his hand through his hair.
"I don't owe you anything, sweetheart." AJ hummed, picking her bag back up as well as the log book as Punk noticed it.
"Is that… you can't take that away with you." Punk pointed.
"Oh, gotta shoot now. I'll be late." AJ ignored him, "Bye." She quickly left the station and got into her car as Punk shook his head and walked into the station.
"Hey, Joan?" Punk crept up to reception, "Did you give AJ the logbook for arrests?" He asked her.
"You know she makes me nervous." Joan sighed as Punk just rolled his eyes.
"You best hope she returns it." Punk shook his head. If there was one thing he'd realised from being a cop, was to never trust a defence lawyer, especially not ones who looked as pretty as AJ did.
He then headed on through to the back offices, coming across his desk where his best buddy Dean was standing.
"Morning." Dean smiled, "No coffee this morning?" He said with confusion as he noticed his long-term best friend didn't have a coffee in his hand like normal.
"No. April Mendez is wearing my coffee to court this morning." Punk said as Dean sniggered.
"You didn't." Dean laughed.
"Hey, she bumped into me." Punk defended, collapsing down at the desk, "And now I'm cranky because I only got three sips out of it." He sighed, rubbing his hands over his face.
"We can stop by and get you one on our way out." Dean laughed, "Ian wants us out on patrol this morning." He said as Punk nodded, spinning around on the chair.
"Joan let AJ take the full fucking logbook to court with her." Punk stood up, taking his things from his desk, "Can you believe that?"
"Because she's terrified of her like most people around here." Dean laughed, "What have you got planned for tonight then? Didn't you say your mom was in town." He said, strapping his gun onto his side as they headed back down through the offices to leave the station.
"Yeah I said my mom was in town. Nothing about spending time with her, though." Punk made clear as Dean nodded.
"Why is she back then?" Dean asked.
He'd known Punk out of their work place for a long time. They never went to the same school but lived on the same street. Punk found himself at Dean's house way more than he spent time at his own whilst growing up.
"I have no idea. Probably to see my little sister." Punk told him truthfully, "We should head to the court and prepare ourselves to catch another armed robber." He said, walking out of the station and heading over to one of the cars as Dean chuckled and nodded.
"Well we all know she can work a good court room. He'll be out after one day." Dean laughed, getting behind the wheel as Punk got in beside him.
"How can she even defend people who are so obviously criminals?" Punk shook his head.
"It's her job." Dean shrugged, "And she's damn well good at it." He shrugged, "I mean, you see what they say about her in the papers. Literally the devil disguised as an angel."
"Someone said that?" Punk laughed.
"Yeah." Dean nodded, "Nightmare dressed like a daydream. That's what she is." He said as Punk just shook his head.
"Ok, I need coffee." Punk sighed to himself.
"If Ian found out we were going for coffee during our shift he'd choke us both." Dean said, nevertheless driving to the nearest coffee shop of course.
"Ian can try it. We all know he's an old man with a bad hip." Punk shook his head as Dean chuckled.
"Hey, where are you going?" A man grumbled the next morning as AJ stood doing her bra at the front and spinning it around, putting her arms in the straps as she looked around the bedroom for her dress, "It's 4 in the morning." He said.
"I need to go home and shower." AJ told him, slipping back into her dress which still smelt of coffee, looking around for her coat, "Where is my coat, Lee?" She asked the man whom she had only met on the way home from court the previous day. She was sure he was the security guard for the court, but she'd be lying if she said she asked or was even interested in what he did.
"Over there I think." He waved uselessly as AJ just shook her head, rummaging through things until she found her coat and put it on, "You're not staying for breakfast?"
"I don't do breakfast." AJ made clear, "Thanks for the night." She told him, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"No, thank you." Lee smirked, rolling back around in bed as AJ just rolled her eyes and left the bedroom, wandering out of the apartment and into her car outside to drive home.
She liked to see the sun rising. It made her feel good, bright and positive, which was a rare feeling for her.
She drove home to her house, parking her car and getting out with her folders, walking on into the two-bedroom house and locking it behind her. She dumped her things down in the living room and headed on through to the kitchen where she stripped out of her dress and threw it in the wash, wandering back down the hallway in her underwear and heading upstairs.
She didn't think about it too much, but she was proud of the success she'd had, whether or not people liked her. Being brought up how she was brought up, in such chaotic conditions, to get out of that and be someone, make a living, despite it being a very lonely living, she was proud of herself for it.
She went in for a shower, washing last night's antics from her body and getting out to collapse in bed for a few hours. She didn't know the guy. He just smiled her way and she suddenly found herself in his apartment. She always told herself it was the stress of her job. She'd told herself her behaviour was acceptable because she just didn't have time for a boyfriend.
She woke up after a few hours of sleeping in her towel on top of the bed, drying her damp hair, popping a pill from in her bathroom cabinet and getting ready for another day at court. She lived a lonely life in terms of family and friends. Her family had moved back to Puerto Rico, which was where she was initially born, for various reasons. And she didn't have many friends. She had a friend, however she lost her at an early age. Loss was something she was used to at this point.
Just as she was putting her coat on to go out the door, she heard a bang on her front door and rolled her eyes.
"What?" She swung the door open before even seeing who it was.
"The logbook." Punk folded his arms as AJ laughed to herself a little.
"Uh… that's in the courts possession now, sweetheart." AJ smiled, "Don't you know how all of this works?" She asked, pushing by him and pulling her door closed to lock it over.
"Well we need it back. Should never have been given to you in the first place." Punk said, "My neck is on the line here."
"Why would you assume I care about that?" AJ asked him seriously, "Maybe get a better receptionist. I could ask her for a gun and she'd give me it." She shook her head.
"Maybe if you didn't scare her." Punk bit back, walking down the path with her, "Rough night?" He asked her as she quickly turned to him, "You got sleeping lines on your cheek."
"Oh." AJ said, rubbing her face, "Sorry I'm not up to your standard this early in the morning." She said, opening the back door of her car and throwing the folders in.
"Well." Punk just made a face, "You still owe me a coffee."
"I don't really." AJ said, "You owe me a new dress and some lotion for the burns on my chest." She said.
"I didn't think you felt pain." Punk admitted teasingly as she just glared at him. Not many people could annoy her. He did. He always had since she first saw him a few years ago. He teased her differently from the other cops. She couldn't tell if she liked it or if she just liked his face a little better than the rest.
"Ok, go away now I have to go to work and actually make a difference." She nodded.
"Oh, by freeing all the evil weirdos back into the world? You really are making a difference." Punk nodded.
"Better than sitting on my ass eating donuts all day." AJ rolled her eyes, "But… you don't put sugar in your coffee, so that means you're healthy." She said.
"Damn straight." Punk said, "Get the logbook back." He said, his tone changing into a serious one as she looked up at him, "Or I'll go take it back." He warned her as she just raised a brow and opened up her car door.
"Goodbye." AJ told him, getting into her car and slamming it shut as she pulled away and onto the road whilst Punk made his way back into his car with Dean.
A/N: I know! Another crime type story. I just feel like they give me a wide span to work with and they're a little more intriguing than just a regular story, so I hope no one is bored! Let me know what you think, I'd appreciate the feedback.