WELCOME TO CHAPTER 1! IF YOU'VE READ THE OLD CHAPTER 1, PLEASE READ THIS ONE AS IT HAS A LOT OF NEW CONTENT! (LIKE 6 PAGES ON MICROSOFT WORD!) I WILL BE REVISING THE OLDER CHAPTERS BECAUSE THEY'RE SO CRAPPY I CAN'T STAND IT ANYMORE :P DON'T WORRY, I WON'T MAKE MAJOR CHANGES THAT MIGHT CONFUSE YOU BESIDES WHAT'S IN THIS CHAPTER. FROM HERE ON OUT, IT'S GENERALLY JUST STRUCTURE EDITING AND COMBINING CHAPTERS SO THAT THEY'RE LONGER. ENJOY! :)
The night surrounded Jessenia, caressing her face. "You ready?" Brian asked. Tonight was a perfect night to burn some rubber on asphalt.
"Ready to watch your ass get kicked." She grinned.
"You wish," he pinned her down roughly on the hood of the car, teasing the anger inside her that was waiting to come out.
"Pin me down again and I'll slash your tires," she snapped.
"Back at you," he smiled that cocky smile, trying to grab the keys from her back pocket.
"Cocky son of a bitch," Jessenia pushed him away as he reached down.
Brian stared at her dark brown hair that flowed to her shoulders, framing her face in curls and the one bang hanging from the right side. Her skin was deceivingly pale, which made it a surprise for people to find out she was of Mexican blood. Her eyes were the same dark brown color as her hair, making her trademark stare all the more dangerous and threatening. Oddly, it made him think about Mia. The two were nothing alike, yet they both held special places in his heart.
Despite her bitterness towards him while he was dating Mia, Jess was without a doubt the most important person in his life. They had grown up together with Rome and they were most likely the reason she ended up being such a tomboy. But he wouldn't change her at all. She was one of the guys in his eyes…except for her small chest and lack of a penis.
Brian remembered in the past when he, Rome, and Jess were huge wrestling fans. They would play in the mud and pretend to be their favorite wrestlers and fight each other. But they always made Jess be the referee for the sake of her safety, and she reluctantly did so until she bent the rules to her liking, counting to 3 slowly or pretending not to notice when one of the boys was in a submission lock. Eventually they said they'd let her fight but that they would go easy on her so that they wouldn't get in trouble.
Elementary school and middle school was when things changed a bit for them. Rome and Brian started to like the girls at school, something that Jess did not share with them. In fact, she despised all the girls because all they wanted to do was play with their dolls. And the group of boys Brian and Rome hung out with disliked Jess because she always beat them up and instilled fear in them, forcing Brian and Rome to alienate her if they were to be part of the group. Jess was a loner from 8AM to 3PM until the school day was over and Rome and Brian walked home with her. After school and during the summer was when they would play, fight, and naturally, get themselves into trouble.
High school was a more uniting experience when Brian and Rome actually missed Jess, (though they'd never admit out loud) and began to hang out with her in public again. She told the dirtiest jokes they had ever heard any girl say, she was pretty good at video games, and she even tried out for the school's football team to hang with the boys. Even though the coach wouldn't let her join, she was still allowed to help him during the training and she went to every game to support her two idiot best friends. The girls at high school were vicious and more often than not, Jess found herself getting into fights. She had Brian and Rome's wrestling matches to thank for her record of being an undefeated fighter at school. Eventually, girls just stopped trying to pick on Jess, especially when they saw her walking the halls with two of the hottest football players by her sides.
Jess also was the most academically successful of the three. Her GPA throughout her high school career was a 3.8 and, of course, made a struggling Rome and Brian jealous. So at the request of both their parents, Jess had become their tutor. Hanging out with a girl for so many hours of the day would have been agonizing to any other pair of boys besides Rome and Brian. Jess helped them understand difficult subjects like Trigonometry, Chemistry, and Spanish a little better. Since the guys would never study or do homework on their own, Jess had to be by their side to make sure the three at least got some work done before playing football outside or killing each other via video games.
But Jess wasn't just there to help them succeed in sports or school. She was also their only moral support. Both Rome and Brian had troubled family lives. Rome's parents had divorced when he was young and his mother had trouble with the law so often that he had to live with his ailing grandmother. Brian had seen his father so little that he didn't even remember him at all. His mother was an emotional wreck to the point of being bipolar, and many times he had to sleep over at Rome's just to get away from the stress. Jess also had family troubles; her parents had split up after her father admitted to cheating on her mother and he left her family for his other one. Thus, Jess's family was left with a torn mother and three bitter children: Jess and her two older brothers—Daniel and Sixto. Her family only grew more apart after that. Sixto moved out, Daniel got married and left shortly after, and Jess was alone with her mother who grew depressed as the weeks passed. She didn't want to cry in front of the boys for fear that she would seem weak, so she kept it all inside, instead helping Brian and Rome with their own problems.
She and Brian were at the funerals for Rome's grandmother when she died of cancer and his cousin's, who got killed in a drive-by shooting. They also helped him move in with his aunt after his grandmother's death and stayed with him in his old room overnight. She slept over at Rome's with Brian when Brian's mother was checked into a mental facility—the reasons for which neither of the three knew—and Brian was too afraid and broken to sleep in his now empty house. She sat with Rome and Brian at the bleachers in the football field at dark hours while one, or sometimes both, got over the pain of breaking up with a girl or seeing her with someone else. She helped them study until they were at the point of passing out for final exams that were crucial for their chance to graduate with diplomas.
The three vowed to be inseparable. But when Jess and Brian entered the police force and Rome did not, things changed. While Jess was at the police academy with Brian, she also interned at a law firm, leaving Brian and Rome to dwell awkwardly on their own. At one point after graduating from the police academy, Rome lost touch with Jess and Brian. They were put in the same local city division, but while Brian was doing field work, Jess was helping out in the legal department. She promptly switched to field work, starting with patrols, because she realized that action was what she really wanted. Brian was on assignment and Jess was in K-9 training, however, when the event of Rome's bust happened.
Both were on the scene, at an old and presumed to be abandoned warehouse, when they were called on the action. But the difference was that Brian was one of the arresting officers when Rome and some friends of his had been caught in the bust. Jess was outside the warehouse with a trained attack dog, waiting to set him loose if need be. Rome saw Brian enter the place and begin making arrests with other officers. But he never saw or knew Jess was outside. So years later, in Miami, when the three were united once again in the derby, only Brian suffered Rome's fury.
In between Rome's bust and their reunion in Miami was also the case with Dominic Toretto. This was Jess and Brian's first official case and they were assigned together on it. However, it wasn't their first time working together in the police force.
Months following Rome's bust, Jess and her partner, Kristy, had been patrolling their usual place as always when they got called in for a possible hostage situation in a casino. Arriving at the scene, she saw several police cars parked nearby and their corresponding officers taking cover and aiming at the front door where the hostages were being held. Jess and her partner followed suit when Brian and his partner, Jeff pulled up beside them and did the same. They could hear a commanding officer yell from the outside as he tried to negotiate with the men on the inside who were responsible for the hold-up.
Jess looked around, surveying the scene. The casino itself looked fairly large, and it was connected to a much larger hotel. She kept that in mind as she asked a patrol officer nearby of what was going on.
"We've got 5 armed men holding the people hostage. They're demanding $100,000 per hostage release, but I've got no doubt they've already started emptying the cash exchange booths in addition. They've locked every possible entry in the casino, including the connecting tunnel that links it to the hotel," a male officer told her.
"What about the roof?" She asked.
He scrunched his eyebrows in confusion. "I don't know…"
Jess walked quickly from her cover towards the nearest officer who was above her rank.
"Sir! Officer Ortiz." She introduced herself formally. The older sergeant nodded to her.
"What do you need, Officer?" He asked.
"Has anyone checked if the roof levels have been locked up as well?" She asked him.
"No intel on that at the moment. Why do you ask?"
"Sir, permission to enter the casino via the hotel—" she began but the higher ranking official shook his head at her.
"Negative, all routes have been blocked." He interrupted.
"The roof, sir." Jess clarified.
"No. Too much of a risk if they notice a break-in. They'll kill a civilian and then we'll lose our negotiation grounds." He turned back to the casino and focused his attention there instead. Brian, Kristy, and Jeff saw the conversation, wincing at the rejection Jess received and praying for her sake that she didn't do something stupid. Brian knew more than anyone that when things didn't go her way, everything got worse.
"Sir, with all due respect, if we just stand here yelling back and forth, we're not making much progress anyway and we still risk the civilians and the escape of the suspects once they get what they came here for!" Jess lowered her voice at the end after noticing that she had raised her voice at a superior officer.
"NO, Officer! That's final! End of discussion! Now get back to your position!" He said loudly.
"Yes sir," she responded submissively and went back to Kristy, who had an apologetic look on her face.
"Nice try," she encouraged meekly.
"Thanks," Jess replied blandly. She was still very much upset. Despite being denied, Jess still had an itching urge to follow through with her suggestion. She didn't know why the sergeant couldn't see her way. They were sitting ducks. Over 20 police officers just standing outside a casino with their guns pointed at a door. Yelling at the men who, with every passing minute, were stealing more money. God, the system was so flawed sometimes.
Finally she couldn't take it anymore. The anger inside her took control. She made up her mind, and no one was going to stop her…hopefully. Jess inched herself backwards, slowly at first, trying to ignore the odd looks she received from Brian, Kristy, and Jeff. Then she sprinted into an alley across the street when she heard the three officers call her name in a whisper to not alert any of the others nearby. Jess ran down 3 alleys and into another street, the one in front of the hotel. She heard many footsteps approaching her quickly.
"Jess!" Voices behind her called loudly. This grabbed more and more attention as they kept yelling. Jess turned around to see who was after her.
"Shit!" She muttered to herself.
"Jess! What the hell are you doing?" Kristy yelled as she ran with Jeff and Brian, who led the pack in their chase. He just a few yards away from Jess, with and Jeff and Kristy a few more yards behind him. Jess figured she had maybe 5 seconds or so to think of a plan and follow through.
Running into the hotel would cause a ruckus and might get the hotel security to fire at her, but it would help to lose her pursuers among the crowd if she didn't attract attention by running. If she ran around the hotel, she would probably find herself trapped in an alley and would have to scale the outer hotel wall to get to the casino roof. With any luck, Jess could find roof access in the hotel more easily and quickly. So she ran down the street and into the hotel, breaking her sprint into a fast walk as she weaved through the crowd of people in the huge lobby. She finally reached the elevators and pushed the up button. Her heartbeat was racing from all the running and the anxiety so she crossed her arms over her chest, hoping it would keep her heart from bursting out of it. She stepped back and nervously kept an eye on the front doors to see if her pursuers were nearby. Much to her dismay, she saw Brian burst through the glass door, dodging people left and right as he desperately searched for Jess. Their eyes met when he spotted her in the back left corner of the giant lobby, waiting for the elevator to arrive.
"Jess!" He yelled and raced towards her, ignoring the odd looks people gave him.
Jess's eyes widened, her heartbeat speeding up once more. She let out a sigh of relief when the elevator ding-ed and the doors slid open. She quickly stepped inside the empty elevator and pushed the button to the top floor when Brian had barely reached the elevators. She heard him curse as the doors closed and she ascended to the 23rd floor of the hotel. Perky piano riffs softly sounded from the elevator speakers, grabbing her attention for a moment. Then the doors opened up to long, cream-colored hallways and Hollywood-style red carpets.
"Okay, come on." She whispered to herself as she turned to the left hallway and aimlessly searched for a route to the roof. In a few seconds, a minute at most, Brian would burst through the elevator doors and then her plan would go to shit. She ran down hallway after hallway, not exactly sure of what she was looking for.
"Goddamnit, Jess!" Brian yelled once the elevator slid open and freed him from a prison of anxiety and urgency. He followed her based on which hallway echoed her pounding footsteps as they slapped the red carpet. She turned another corner and found a door with 'EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY' printed in big red bold letters. Her eyes widened like a child's in a candy shop. "Yes!" She sighed in relief. Unfortunately for her, this led Brian directly to her location. He called out her name again.
Jess kicked the door open out of the adrenaline rush. It spiked higher into her system when she heard clamored calls emitting from Kristy and Jeff. She mentally cursed the world, people, hotels, elevators, criminals, and everything else that played a part in her current situation. She stepped out onto the roof to see a dangerous 6-foot gap between the casino and hotel roofs. Brian had already turned the corner and would be at an arm's distance of Jess very soon if she didn't do something now. She took a few steps back and just as she was in Brian's grasp, she leaped over the gap that stood between the hotel and casino.
"That's not going to make me go away!" Brian called out as he followed her actions. Jess landed on one knee and gave herself a moment to recover before getting up and running from Brian again. She technically had nowhere to go, but she had been cooking up a plan while waiting in the elevator. As she surveyed the roof, Brian gripped her arm firmly.
"Jess, what the hell are you doing?" He chastised. Their eyes met for a few seconds until they heard Jeff and Kristy calling out to them from the hotel's roof. They turned around to see the two officers yelling and scolding simultaneously as they waved their arms frantically.
"Notstanding on the sidelines, that'swhat I'm doing." Jess jerked her arm away and glared at Brian, challenging him to piss her off.
"Are you insane? We'll get fired! You disobeyed a direct order!"
"And you weren't obligated to follow me," Jess said with a hint of bitterness as she walked around the roof to look for an entrance point. Miraculously, that shut Brian up for a few minutes as she finally found a good sized window on the right side of the casino.
Brian chewed on the inside of his cheek as he watched Jess go to work. He turned back to Jeff and Kristy, who stood quietly on the hotel roof, unsure of what to do with their crazed partners.
"So what's your plan, then?" He turned back to Jess, who was on her stomach and cautiously leaning over the roof to examine the window a few feet below.
"And why would you care, O'Connor?" She said over the roof. Brian walked over to her and crossed his arms. She turned around to see him standing over her.
"I can't let you have all the fun." He grinned mischievously at her. Just like old times. She returned the smirk and spoke.
"B&E through this window," she pointed to the windowsill below her. "We'll pick them off one by one until we get to ground level, then invite the boys outside to join the party." She explained. Brian nodded in agreement.
"Sounds good." Brian called Jeff on his radio and told him their plan and that they would give out a signal when all officers should move into the casino. He held Jess's legs down to the roof so she wouldn't fall over as she broke the window of the second floor in the casino. Both easily dropped in and pulled out their standard issue pistols. Silencers would have made this plan run much more smoothly for the two officers, but as it was, they were going to have to make do with what they had and just hope for the best.
Jess and Brian split up on the second floor, agreeing to meet up back at their point of entry after their sweep. Time was of the essence, so both ran as silently as they could and stayed away from the staircases, which could lead to exposure. They stuck to the shadows and sprinted beside darker walls as they scanned the floor. In minutes, they reunited sweaty and tired, but fortunately unharmed and having encountered no hostiles.
Together, they ran down the empty escalator in the back, away from the main attraction games and closer to the gift shops, where they hoped would be no resistance. They took cover behind the counter of a magazine shop when they heard an armed guard pass by. Using hand signals, Brian volunteered to take him out and Jess would provide cover. Creeping slowly behind the guard until both were alone in a hallway, Brian covered the guard's mouth as he struck his clavicle with the butt of his pistol. The man dropped to the ground unconscious. Brian was reassured to see Jess right behind him with her pistol ready to fire if any of the two was in danger. He nodded to her in thanks and they circled around to the rear of the staircases, where 4 men with rifles roamed around. Several people, too many to count or estimate, cowering on the ground. They whimpered in fear, hopeless and wondering if they would live to see another day.
Brian tapped Jess's shoulder, interrupting her thought process as she observed the men and their movements. He pointed to a few slot machines at the right side of the casino, then at her. He pointed to himself and then to a craps table on the left side of the casino. She nodded and moved quietly to where he asked. After seeing that she was in position, he ran to his designated area. Thankfully, the carpet muffled their movement, so no one had noticed them.
Brian looked to his right to see Jess crouched with her pistol at the ready. He held up one finger to his mouth and peeked from his cover to point at the two men closest to them. Kneeling down back to safety, he looked at Jess as she nodded in agreement to take them out. He held up three fingers with one hand and his gun with the other, signaling that they would take them out simultaneously at the count of three. As his fingers dropped one by one, Jess smirked evilly when only one finger remained standing.
In a flash, the two officers fired one shot each at their targets, incapacitating them instantly. As the last two whipped around, Jess rolled out of cover to get closer. Brian provided back-up support as one of the men aimed at her. Two shots to the chest took out the threat and Jess took cover behind a row of slot machines. Brian called on his radio for backup from Jeff and the rest of the officers who were still standing outside. Jeff informed him that they were moving in on the casino via the main entrance. Jess whipped around with her gun trained at the last man.
But the last man was a bit smarter, and had grabbed a nearby civilian. He was using the middle-aged man as a bodyguard. He pointed his pistol at the man's head, threatening to kill him if either Jess or Brian made any sudden movement.
"Put down your weapon!" Brian commanded. The suspect made no movement to do so.
"Come on, man. It's over. Give up while you still can," Jess said loudly, her impatience growing. In the midst of this, Brian saw figures of police officers approaching the glass doors of the casino. Shit, he thought. If the suspect saw them, he'd surely kill the civilian. And then Jess and Brian would be in a heap of trouble. As the doors were busted open, several officers burst inside, grabbing the criminal's attention. He turned around, his back towards Jess and Brian. Jess took a shot at his arm while Brian fired at his leg, both careful not to hit the civilian. The armed man and his 'bodyguard' collapsed to the ground and the two officers rushed over to them. The civilian crawled away from his attacker and Jess helped him up while Brian handcuffed the injured criminal. The rest of the policemen and policewomen helped calm the other hostages and handled the downed suspects.
After all the hostages had been interviewed and released, the stolen money accounted for and returned, and the suspects medically treated and sat handcuffed in the back of 3 patrol cars, a higher ranking member of the police force approached a nervous Brian and Jess, who were accompanied by their equally nervous partners.
"I understand you four were at the head of this plan," he crossed his arms over his chest. His golden badge glistened in the bright and hazy casino lighting. The combination of the man's insignia patch and the name patch on his uniform that read 'Lt M. Parker' was clearly there not just to be informative, but also intimidating.
The four officers before him were terrified. They were all still quite new to the force and would hate to be fired on the spot right now. Not only would it be embarrassing, it would be a personal letdown after having graduated from the police academy. Jess's heartbeat was still racing from the adrenaline, and she couldn't just stand there with her head down like the others. She explained to the lieutenant what happened.
The whole operation was Jess's idea, and she intended for herself to be the only one involved so only she could take the blame if it went wrong. But things got complicated when Brian, Kristy, and Jeff were chasing after her. She tried to evade them and hoped they would just give up and return to their positions.
That, what her first mistake, officer. Partners never abandon each other. They are a team and take equal blame; he eyed Kristy, who lowered her head in shame. And members of the force should always refer to one another by rank, not by name, unless you are of higher rank than the person you are addressing. She would do well to remember both rules from now on. He nodded for Jess to continue.
Sir, it was all her idea. She was just desperate. She needed to take action; the force wasn't making any progress! At least, that's what it looked like…Jess lowered her head nervously. Anyway, her point is that O'Connor…sorry…OfficerO'Connor and his partner should not be at fault, same with her own partner.
Lieutenant Parker observed Jess's movements as she fidgeted nervously under his scrutiny.
"How exactly did you think this would play out?" He inquired, causing her to look back up at his steel blue eyes as she answered.
"Well," she began. "I thought since the roof seemed to be the only thing not under lock and key by the suspects, it seemed like a discreet and unexpected entry point."
Silence befell the group as the higher ranked man stood in thought. Brian kept his eyes on his black Converse. Crap! He thought. He had forgotten to wear his uniform shoes! If Lieutenant Parker noticed, or any other officer of higher rank, they'd have his head on a plate.
"And you," the officer turned to Brian, who looked up at him stiffly. "You could have stayed at the hotel with Officers Mendez and Jenkins," he gestured to Jeff and Kristy respectively. "It certainly would have gotten you in less trouble if you left Officer Ortiz go on her own. So why did you follow?"
Now all eyes were on Brian. Why didhe do it? Jess and the Lieutenant weren't the only ones who wanted to know.
Was it because he had just as much drive to catch the bad guys? Was it because he wanted a part of the action? Did he want to take credit in subduing the suspects? Did he hope to gain a gold medal after all this? He knew the answer to none of these questions. He did know one thing: the pressure of being put on the spot by Lieutenant Parker was freaking Brian out. It was enough to make him shuffle his feet around from the awkwardness of it all.
"…I don't know, sir." He responded quietly. Lieutenant Parker grunted at his empty response and stepped back to face the four officers.
"Dismissed."
They nodded and scurried back to their cars. Jess walked ahead nervously, knowing that Kristy was glaring daggers at her from behind for getting her in trouble. Jeff walked slowly behind them, still in shock of everything that occurred since the moment Jess had first run off. Contrary his position in the group minutes ago when he had been chasing Jess, Brian was now at the back of the pack, lagging further behind still. He was lost in thought after the altercation with the Lieutenant.
When he lifted his head up to see how far behind he was, he saw said Lieutenant talking with other officers about details pertaining to the case. He walked over to him.
"Sir?" Brian stood back a few feet and put his hands in his pockets, a habit he had whenever he was shy or nervous, such as now.
"Yes, Officer?"
"I followed Officer Ortiz because I stuck to the oath of an officer: never leave your partner behind." The Lieutenant raised his eyebrow at Brian.
"If I understand correctly, Ortiz is not your partner; Mendez is."
"Officer Ortiz might not be my partner in the force," he said. "But I consider her one anyways." And with that, he walked back to Jeff, who sat in their patrol car.
He got in the driver's seat and looked to his left to see Jess in the driver's seat of her patrol car. Kristy looked like she was screaming her head off at Jess, who just sighed and sat with her head back, as if to ward off a headache. It definitely looked like Kristy's chastisement could be enough to cause a migraine from what he could see. Brian put the key in the ignition and put the car in reverse.
"You want to tell me what the hell happened down there? Cause I still can't process all this shit." Jeff leaned his head against the window.
"Nah, man." Brian simply said, and dropped Jeff off at his apartment.
Later that night, Brian drove back to the police station to turn in the patrol car. He saw Jess had arrived before him and was already on her way inside. He entered the building and saw her go to the women's lockers. He went to his locker, got his black backpack and his things, and walked back to the parking lot. Like always, Jess waited outside the station, leaning against a pole and listening to her iPod with one earbud in her ear and the other dangling down her chest. She said it was so she could hear if someone was sneaking up on her. Brian knew she was just making excuses not to buy another pair because she always broke them when sleeping with her iPod.
She looked over her shoulder when she heard the sound of footsteps grow closer. Brian walked over to her with his backpack slung on one shoulder. She looked him up and down briefly when her eyes stopped at his feet.
"Someone's out of uniform," she grinned, raising her eyebrows at his Converse. She began walking across the street, Brian by her side.
"Shut up," he bumped her shoulder, knocking her off course and into the empty street. She played it off coolly until she walked safely back onto the sidewalk. She punched his stomach and chuckled when Brian groaned in pain. It was getting darker out. They kept walking.
The rest of the time was spent chatting about the day's events, excluding the hostage situation as they had both experienced and it was an awkward conversation to have, especially after Brian had been put on the spotlight. Finally they reached the apartment building that they lived in. They endured the tiring two flights of stairs until they arrived at the end of the hall. Their apartments were across from each other, in case one over needed the other. Jess grabbed her key and unlocked her door.
"So, um…" Brian began; Jess turned around.
"Night," he said simply. She nodded.
"See ya tomorrow."
And they entered their homes, falling into a deep sleep and awaiting the next day.
Back at the station, Sergeant James Monty, the head of Brian and Jess's local city division, sat in his office, going through the pile of paper, files, and other bulk that needed organizing. In the midst of his 'spring cleaning' routine, his phone buzzed, alerting him of a new email. He sat at his metal desk, checking the full email on his computer. He read the previewed information, noticing the sending address: 'Lt. M. Parker, South Division'. The Sergeant grudgingly opened the email, expecting the content to be a complaint that the South Division had in regards to the North Division. The email read:
LAPD
Lt M Parker, South Division
Los Angeles, CA
To Sergeant James Monty:
Today at approximately 2100 hours at the Celeste Casino on the corner of Amazon Street and Rio Avenue, a hostage situation was called in. On scene were officers from both my division and yours, including Officer O'Connor, Officer Mendez, Officer Jenkins, and Officer Ortiz. This message mainly concerns O'Connor and Ortiz. I'll keep this brief, but you are welcome to contact me if you need further details on the following matter. Officer Ortiz, in attempt to gain advancement in the hostage situation, took things into her own hands—in violation of a direct order from one of my sergeants—by entering the locked up casino via the second floor window. In the process, her sudden actions alerted her partner, as well and O'Connor and his partner, thus involving them in a wild goose chase to stop Ortiz's erratic behavior. The chase led the four officers to the roof of the Stream Hotel, adjacent to the Celeste Casino. Ortiz jumped to the casino roof to evade the three officers. However, it was Officer O'Connor who mimicked her actions and jumped as well. Both made a discreet entrance into the casino and eliminated all 5 armed suspects while causing no casualties. The money the suspects planned to steal was all accounted for, and it was directly due to the actions of Officers O'Connor and Ortiz that these outcomes came to be. Despite the fact that O'Connor was not by law required to provide assistance to Ortiz, the two officers seemed to work well as a pair better than with their respective assigned partners. Furthermore, I believe that O'Conner and Ortiz would serve well in a higher sector, and as official partners, under the South Division. I understand that they are young and still have much to learn, but their motivation and capabilities show promise and growth. Their skills and collaboration will be put to much better use here as there are several priority cases that require their attention. I ask that you transfer them to the South Division of the LAPD as soon as possible and to contact me when you do. If you have any questions or concerns with this matter, please contact me.
Lieutenant Mark Parker, South Division LAPD
And in a few days, Brian and Jess had been transferred to the South Division, where they had officially become partners and worked together day in and day out. In a few weeks, they had been assigned to their first major case: the angry truckers and the concerns over Dominic Toretto.
This case was stressful for both Brian and Jess, and caused them to drift apart from some time. It was hard for Brian to lie to Mia's face and focus on the case, as he was starting to care about the girl. Jess nagged him about it, warning him that they still had a job to do. She naturally didn't trust women, especially those who hung around with Brian or Rome, like back in high school. On the inside, Jess even admitted it to herself that she was a jealous bitch. During high school, there were times when Jess developed a crush on Brian. It would come and go as she saw him hang out with female undesirables, so she just kept it inside and waited for her hormones to subside. On the other hand, Jess was naturally also a mean-spirited person; she was always looking for an excuse to get angry and punch someone. Most of all Brian.
Jess was also under pressure when she found out that Toretto's girlfriend was none other than Leticia Ortiz. It was then that she discovered that Letty was her relative. When Jess's father left her family, Letty's mother was the 'other woman'. Thus, Letty was his child as well, making Jess and Letty sisters. At first, the two didn't hit it off so well, both being as stubborn and bitter as their father. But their love for cars, tomboyish behavior, and passion for all forms of rock became their common ground. The two became best friends quickly, making progression in the case even harder for Jess. She hated being her only sister's boyfriend's ticket to jail.
In the aftermath of the Toretto case, Jess and Brian decided to quit the force. They took a road trip of sorts and toured the country as they evaded local police. Their faces managed to be on nearly every newspaper and news channel, much to their dismay. They spent months in hiding until they wound up in Miami, Florida. All seemed to go well until one night at the street racing region when Brian and Jess were arrested by the Miami PD while they tried to flee the scene. At the station, they were briefed on Verone Carter, a known drug smuggler who had managed to escape the police's grasp several times before. With the inclusion of Roman Pearce, the operation had initiated.
After the three had successfully worked together to assist in the arrest of Verone Carter, they made amends. While Rome chose to work in the shop for Tej and live across the street, Jess and Brian, now ex-cops, decided to share a small apartment in Glenn Boulevard and own a hide-away yacht at seaside Miami.
And here they were now, getting ready to let loose and relax in the dark night.
"Dumbass," Brian heard Jess mutter to him. He was spacing out again. They both entered her glossy obsidian Nissan 350z and drove to the one place they felt free: the streets. Brian and Jessenia hopped off and decided to chat before the race…they had time.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Jessenia muttered behind her hair as she popped the hood.
"You always do, Jess" Brian sighed, escaping the crowd moving towards him. Being famous in Miami had its pros and its cons.
"Got a problem with that?" she asked sternly, her eyes threatening to hurt him. She fumbled with the engine.
"Relax," he rolled his eyes as he closed the hood. "Just try to have fun." He didn't understand why she was so on edge tonight. She never was this nervous. It was making him nervous, and he felt paranoid just thinking so much about it all.
"So who is it this time?" Jess changed subjects, inquiring about the night's first line-up of automobile racers. It seemed that the motorcycle races had already ended.
"Does it matter?" He retaliated the question; he'd played that game with her before. It was all about small talk and bluffs.
"L-let me just double check under the hood," Jess stuttered as she put her hands on the hood of the car again. She had a gut feeling that something was wrong, but Brian just focused on the race. It's nothing,he assured himself. She was nervous over nothing.
"Jess!" He yelled impatiently and stopped her from touching anything inside. Brian grabbed her elbows and lightly stepped on her feet, completely immobilizing her.
"Shit, what's wrong with you?" He looked her in the eyes. She only glared at him.
"I don't know, I just…" she sighed in exasperation, hating that she couldn't get the right words out.
"Dammit Jess just stand on the sidelines." He stressed, getting off her feet and letting her go. She rolled her eyes at him and complied.
"Fine. But I'm telling you, O'Connor: something's wrong and you'll be sorry when it comes," Jess said lastly as Brian gave her a pissed glare.
"Thanks for the tip, Zoltar. What are you going to do next? Read me tarot cards?" He said, feeling some anger in his chest build up. Jess chose to ignore his snide remark.
"All right speed demons, it's Double Night!" The race host yelled. People in the crowd cheered as the racers pulled up their cars along the starting line. Jess leaned against a street lamp with her arms crossed, isolating herself from the regular crowd of slutty chicks, cocky dudes, crackpots, and ghetto-wannabes.
"For a total of 10 grand, you will run two laps around the pier. Two members per crew. Those of you who like the two-wheelers: only one bike per pair. No exceptions, aiight?" The race host clarified. Jess smirked. Now she was going to get in on the action.