~Dominique's POV~

I had my team in the conference room. We were going over every detail of the case. Henry, Spencer, Buzz, and myself were looking at the numerous pictures spread out on the table. Gus was hiding in the corner, glancing at the brutal photos here and there. I couldn't blame him. Not everyone has a strong stomach for such graphic pictures. And right here laying before my eyes are 26 pictures of tortured women. One was skinned alive. Another was choked and beaten, every single bone in her body was broken. And the most horrifying part was, the first two had it easy. Each woman suffered worst than the previous. My heart bled for the these women, which is why I made a silent promise. Whenever I find the sick fuck who did this, I'll make sure he knows exactly what true pain is. After all, torture is my specialty.

"All of these women are beautiful but, they're different ages, race, height, and weight. Besides being at the wrong place and the wrong time, what the hell do these women have in common", ask Henry.

"They all got out of an abusive relationship at one point or another during their lives," I said quite bluntly before continuing. "These women were with different men at different times. However, the one thing that ties these women together is the fact that they were survivors. They got beaten and raped by previous boyfriends or husbands. And when these women finally had enough, they were able to turn their pain into power. Daniel Brown, age 56, went home one day after work to get beaten by her drunkard husband. She finally fought back after 25 years of abuse. Needless to say, she didn't have a gun, but she did have a frying pan. She clubbed the bastard until he was unconscious, packed up her clothes and left. He never saw her again after that. Michelle O'Brian, age 16, ran away from home to stay with her boyfriend who was 28. He got Michelle hooked on crack for a while and then charged his friends a fee in order to take advantage of her while she was in her weakened state. She was a victim of 17 men. About a year later, she found a few videos of her abuse was posted on the internet. She then waited for her boyfriend to come home. He was drunk and started to hit her when she took a crowbar to his crotch several times. She then called the police. It's the same situation for the rest of them. Women who took their lives back, that was the pattern."

Shawn held up a the picture of LuLu, a 34 year old Asian woman do was fed alive to rats. "The women, the history, this case, you're statement last night to the press: wait a second! This mission is a suicide mission and you're the bait!"

My glaze went down to the pictures. Suddenly, I felt ashamed. I am the best agent in my department. There was never a case I couldn't complete; never a terrorist that I couldn't take down. Now here I am, not as a strong, fearless agent who takes down terrorists but a mere worm. I'm a worm that's dangling on a hook in front of a monster that I can't see in this deep dark water above land. The shame I felt wasn't the fact that I was pawn for my department, nor my country. I take pride in serving this country even though it's not my birthplace. The shame that I felt was the fact is that I'm actually scared.

I planned on being caught by this monster in human flesh. It was the only way for me to know who Brother Grimm really was. Once I was captured, I planned on escaping. This is little game of Cat and Mouse, is a game that I've played ever since I was a little girl; get caught, get free, and apprehend the culprit. I've done this so many times, it's like a ritual for me now. However, my feline partner in the game, is faceless; a ghost. In the 18 years that I've worked uncover in the human trafficking ring, this is by far the closest that we've have ever been to capturing the legendary Brother Grimm himself. Once he gets his hands on me, if I'm not prepared for him, I will die.

'I don't want to die.'

"Yes, I am. That's why I need constant surveillance around me. We're looking for a man with a grudge against strong women; a man that was ashamed that his control and his power over others, was taken away. We need to find this guy and we need to find him now. I'm the only person in the company that can pull this off."

By the time the meeting was over, I noticed that it was nearly dinner time. I felt so hungry that I could've fainted. Why was I so blasted hungry? That's right, I didn't eat lunch. Carlton invited me out with him and his partner, Juliet, but I had files to read. So, I declined his offer. Oh well, all that I needed to be done has been taken care and that was the most important thing today. As I walked out of the hall behind everyone else, I looked over to Carlton's desk. He looked up and saw me. When he did, his eyes lit up in the most beautiful way. He smiled at me his cute little smile and waved. I smiled and waved back. I quickly went back to Vick to let her know I was leaving before I went to see Carlton, who was putting on his jacket.

"You ready to get out of here now", he asked.

"I am very ready to leave here", I said.

Carlton wrapped his arms around my waist while I wrapped my arms around his neck. I knew people was staring at us, I just wish I knew why. I've been out of the dating business for so long, I can't remember what a 'normal' is in a happy relationship. It's still normal for boyfriends and girlfriends to embrace each other, isn't it? If it isn't normal then unusual feels pretty damn good. Right when Carlton was about to kiss me, his desk phone began to ring.

"One second", he said, meekly.

Carlton quickly kissed my forehead before answering the phone.

"Carlton. Yes. Yes. Alright, we'll be right there."

Carlton hung up the phone and cursed. Then he turn towards me and smiled nervously. It really kills me how adorable he looks right now. The worst part is, Carlton doesn't even know how cute he can be at times.

"Dominique", he started nervously.

Stop being so cute, damn you!

"Go."

Carlton looked at me for a second, confused.

"Correct if I'm wrong but, you are a detective, Head Detective."

"Yeah."

"Well then, go kick some serious arse!"

Carlton grabbed me and dipped me; kissing passionately in front of everyone. He completely took my breath away by doing this. After the kiss, he brought me up.

"I'm gonna go kick some ass. O'Hara, let's roll!"

Carlton gave me one more peck on the lips before he and his grinning partner left the station. I don't what it is but, seeing him happy feels me with such joy. It's quite queer.

"Oh damn," I cursed out loud as I realized my predicament.

How am I supposed to get home? Well, I suppose a taxi will have to do. I went to grab my cell phone out of my bra when a familiar voice stopped me.

"Hey, DD, me and Gus wanted to know if you want to hang out", Shawn said, appearing out of nowhere.

I raised my eyebrow at him.

"Hang out?"

"Yeah, you know: grab smoothies, go to the arcade, or we can watch the Mentalist.", Shawn insisted.

"We like to make fun of that show because he's a fake while Shawn is not", Gus added.

I thought about it. Well, it's always logical to know who you're working with. These two are definitely people that I need to know more about.

"Of course, gentlemen. Lead the way."