[*open with Evie*]
"Bobby," I call his name, no response – just snoring. His large frame practically covers the entirety of my bed. He's spread eagle, face down with my quilt tangled across his back, intertwined in his legs. Much like I was just an hour ago. "Bobby." I call him again, his phone is ringing. "Bobby!"
"Huh, wha?" He rolls over slowly. I swear I don't know anyone who can fall asleep faster or sleep more deeply than Bobby Goren.
"Phone." I smile as I throw his cell phone at him. He clumsily catches the device and answers the call.
"Goren," he grunts into the phone. "Yeah, yeah, got it. 30." He clicks it closed.
"Seconds or minutes?" I ask.
"What?" He's rubbing the heels of his hands against his eyes. He doesn't exactly wake up quickly.
"You said – 30."
"Minutes. I've gotta be into the squad in 30 minutes." He throws his forearm over his eyes, and I can tell by the change in breathing that he's falling back asleep.
"I was going to get in the shower," I say. I think he hasn't heard me, but just as the water gets hot he follows me under the water.
[*switch to Bobby*]
"Look Lieu, we can't let these homicide guys run around undercover making drug busts." Bobby's standing in front of his superior officer, trying his best to keep his temper in check.
"Why's that? We don't have enough of our own cases to keep us busy?" The Lieutenant barks back, not able to hold his temper.
"It's our bust," Bobby replies, running his hand along the back of his neck.
"Actually, it's their bust, I just got the phone call ripping me a new one, telling me all about it." The Lieutenant makes a grandiose gesture toward the phone as he glares at Bobby.
"What?" Bobby's stalling, experiencing a minor processing delay that the Minaya case was just formally taken away.
"All that salsa dancing screw with your English – it's their bust… comprende?" And just like that, the Lieu's words reveal that he knows exactly what Bobby's been up to for the past 72 hours.
"Yeah, comprende." Bobby's mumbling the words to himself as he strides out of the office before his head explodes.
"What was that?" It's Ruiz doing the talking, following Bobby toward the stairwell.
"That was the Lieu handing me my ass and handing the Minaya case to Quinn and Dutton."
"Where're you going?" Ruiz huffs, he's out of breath from chasing after Bobby.
"I've no fucking clue," Bobby bites out the retort, heading outside. "Back to bed?" He thinks of Evie - the flush of her smooth skin in the hot shower that morning.
"Seriously?" Ruiz asks.
"No," Out of frustration, Bobby scratches his hand through his hair. He shakes the erotic image of Evie out of his head, "I'm going to see Quinn and Dutton - see if they need any back up," he fishes in his pocket for his keys.
"Wait man, I'm in," Ruiz's following after Bobby, but then he lingers outside the car as Bobby slides into the driver's seat.
"Well, then get the hell in."
"Listen Quinn, I get that you've got Moran on your back to make this bust quick," Bobby's exasperation is bleeding through in his tone.
"If you get that, why are you here?" Quinn is stuffing a hot dog into his mouth as he stands near a street cart.
"We've got your back on this, if you want," Bobby breathes in deeply, trying to rein it back a notch.
"You've got our back?" Thoughtfully, Quinn continues to eat his hot dog, but his tone is a bit defensive.
"Yeah - we know the case, we know Minaya," Bobby offers.
"But you don't know the set up."
"Not too hard, you've got Dutton in place as a buyer. When he makes the buy, you make the bust." Ruiz steps in and takes the conversation from Bobby. "We can help you out on this - let us help you out on this."
"I don't know. Sometimes help isn't really all that helpful," Quinn looks at them skeptically, causing Bobby's patience to slip.
"We'll be there for back up. You call the shots," Ruiz again steps in with a politically appropriate reply.
"Lemme check with Joe," Quinn replies, referring to Dutton.
"Sure thing," Ruiz smiles smoothly. "When's the buy?"
"Tonight," Quinn has finished his hot dog and starts walking down the block back towards his precinct house.
"So where's Dutton?" Bobby's frustration gets the better of him as he hijacks the conversation back away from Ruiz.
"Look we have this covered," Quinn immediately gets defensive.
"And we've got your back," Ruiz counters. "Just your back, not the bust."
"Give me a few hours," Quinn glances at his watch. "I'll call you with the details."
Bobby's phone and Ruiz's phone ring at the same time. Ruiz quickly answers the phone call from Quinn, jotting down the time frame and location of the Minaya bust.
On the fourth ring, right before it rolls into voice mail, Bobby glances at the caller id and answers his phone - "Yeah mom?" Bobby neutralizes his tone as he says the words.
"Bobby?" she replies, which frustrates him. She dialed his number, he answered the phone calling her "mom", and she knows his voice. Her scattered reply is not a good sign.
"Yeah, it's me – Bobby," he confirms.
"I need to get a hold of your brother."
"What? Why?" Bobby hasn't talked with his brother in a few months.
"I just need to get a hold of your brother, do you know how to reach him?"
"Mom, what's going on?"
"Why do you have to be so difficult? You're always so short with me. Not like Frank, he's always so nice and helpful."
"Mom, why do you need to get a hold of Frank?"
"There's this mix up, I just need your brother."
"Mix-up?" Bobby switches the phone to his other ear as he strides across the squad room for a more private space.
"Frank's been helping me with my rent."
"Helping you?" Bobby gulps down the burn of stress rising in his chest.
"Well, he's been handling my bills for me, taking care of me."
"Mom…" Bobby closes his eyes.
"And my super, he says he's gonna throw me out if I don't pay, and Frank – you know, he's paid. There must be some mix-up."
Bobby tries for a deep breath, his pulse is pounding in his head, his eyes are still closed. He knows Frank hasn't paid. He knows Frank has been taking their mother's money and shooting it up his arm.
"How many months mom?"
"How many months what?"
"How many months has Frank been helping you?"
"Not many." Her reply is evasive. "I need to get a hold of Frank by 7:00 today," she continues.
"Why?" Bobby asks, but he doesn't know why he bothers with the question, he knows the answer, so when his question is greated by his mother's silence, he fills in the blanks, "is that when your landlord is coming by for payment?"
"I just need Frank," she says.
"I'll take care of it. By 7:00," Bobby replies, knowing that he's going to have to track down his mother's landlord by 7:00 before he finds a way to evict her. He glances at his watch. That gives him just over an hour.
"Good, you'll find Frank for me?" Her voice is hopeful.
"I'll take care of it." Bobby says before hanging up the phone. He walks back toward his desk.
"What's up?" Ruiz asks.
"I gotta take care of something – with my, um…" he doesn't want to say it – "Look, I'll hook up with you by 9:00." Bobby is practically pulsating with frustration. He's having a tough time balancing the job with his mother. He's hates it when everything jumps at once. He figures if he plays it right, he can handle his mom and still make the bust on Minaya.
"That's cutting it tight," Ruiz shakes his head a bit.
"Yeah, I know. 9:00," Bobby calls over his shoulder as he hits the stairwell, heading toward his mother's building.