A/N: Thanks for all of the wonderful reviews! Sorry I haven't gotten back to anyone-life has been crazy! Here is the next installment. Let me know what you think! :)
Honesty by Billy Joel
"I can always find someone
To say they sympathize
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve
But I don't want some pretty face
To tell me pretty lies"
Defining Moments
Chapter 10: Partners
Steph's POV
After working with Quinn for a few hours on the case, we get back into his car and head to Trenton. We grab lunch on the road. Frankly, I'm exhausted from all of the exercise and emotionally from everything. I should also give Lester a call and stop by to see my parents, although, my parents can wait. Quinn said we should keep our FBI status a secret unless we find it necessary because we don't want the Bianchis to know that we're after their whole drug operation. While our main goal is to turn in Ian, we hope to get the whole drug operation while we're at it. It's pretty exciting really. Apparently, the DEA wasn't the only government agency looking at the drug operation. Then when the agent got beat it made it even more important to the FBI.
"So I feel like you know so much about me, partner," I say breaking the silence in the car as we sit in the barely crawling traffic. I'm interested to know more about Quinn. I feel like he isn't telling me something important about himself. Granted, I've barely known him for two days; but still, I should know him and trust him. He looks over.
"That's true. I had to do extensive background searches on you," he replies with a grin. I sigh. I feel my privacy was severely violated. I mean they didn't even know I would say yes to this for sure. For all they knew, they did all of this research only for me to decline the job offer.
"Feel like sharing?" I ask attempting to arch an eyebrow.
"Well I told you some basic stuff like where I went to school, studied, about my folks," he says, "I have a younger sister named Tessa who is currently in Japan teaching English as a second language. She's two years younger than me and we were super close growing up." I nod.
"I take it you know about my sister and parents," I reply with a small smile. He shrugs.
"I mean I have the reports and stuff they've said about you, but you're the only person I haven't talked to," he replies, "so really I only know what other people think about you. I don't actually know you." I nod, biting my lip. Still, he has so much information on me, and I have nothing on him. I guess I'll learn in time. Quinn senses my hesitance. He grabs my hand and tries to reassure me with a smile.
"I struggled with reading growing up. I played soccer in high school. I was crowned prom king. I've had two serious relationships in my life. I hate peas and ketchup. I love a good Philly cheesesteak, and I love Bruce Springsteen," he rattles off as he rubs circles on my hand with his thumb. I feel better knowing he's telling me all of this stuff just to make me feel better and to reassure me that I can trust him. It shows he's thoughtful and actually cares about being my partner. I ignore the part about him hating ketchup even though I find that flat out wrong. I smile at him.
"Okay Quinn," I say with a smile, "thank you for sharing." He nods.
"Look, sweetheart, this partnership can only work if we feel like we know and trust each other," he explains cutting his eyes to the road, "I know that comes with time, but like you said I know a lot about you already. I've had a year to get used to the idea of being partners, and you're being thrown into this. I'll do what I can to help make it easier for you."
We drift into silence and he drives me back to my car. I sigh as the Honda Passport comes into view. Ugh, if the driver's door doesn't open this is about to be embarrassing. He pulls up to the curb, and I step out. I lean against the door with my feet on the road.
"I'm going to go get checked in at the hotel and probably stay in for the evening," he informs me, "you should get some rest. We can go jogging in the morning." I nod.
"Sounds good. I think I'll look over the notes, maybe make a few calls," I respond. He gives me a grin and a dimple shows up on his right cheek. I feel my heartbeat speed up at the sight. Jeez, why do all the men in my life have to be good looking? Vinnie pops to my head, and I shudder. Okay, so not all of the men I come into contact with are good looking. Quinn raises an eyebrow at me, but I just smile unwilling to explain my train of thought.
"Alright, see you tomorrow partner," he says, and I salute him. I shut the door and head to my car. Sadly, he waits for me to get in my car before leaving. I sigh as I try the door. Like I thought, the door doesn't open. I look over at Quinn's car and can tell he's watching me from the rear view mirror. I smile sheepishly and do a little finger wave before heading to the passenger side. I open the door and shimmy my way over to the driver's seat. I look up and can see Quinn laughing from his car. I just flip him the bird and start my car. At least the door is the only problem this one has.
I get home and am surprised to find a spot right by the front of my building. I pump my fist in victory. Yay me! Maybe deciding to turn my life around has helped with my parking karma as well. I'm not even upset as I get out from the passenger side. I have a spring in my step as I take the stairs up to my apartment. I unlock my door and hurry to give Rex some food. I feel bad about being gone a whole day and a half. I throw in two hamster nuggets and a grape. I know he usually eats rather slow so he should be happy for a while. He blinks his eyes and twitches his whiskers at me.
"You won't believe what's happened to me!" I exclaim grabbing my FBI badge from my purse. I lay it on the counter as I un-holster my gun. I put my gun and badge in the cookie jar. I grab my cell and make a call to Pino's for a meatball sub. It'll be here in thirty minutes. I head to the bedroom and strip out of my clothes. I take a quick shower and pull on sweats and an oversized t-shirt. I go back to the kitchen and grab the Bianchi file from my purse. It's a little thicker now with my notes and with the information from Quinn. I realize I never looked into a possible 'Juliet.' I scribble down a note to make sure I look into it. Maybe I'll visit Alexander Ramos tomorrow. I feel like he'll have some info on what he thinks of the family.
A knock on my door brings me out of my musings. I smile thinking about the meatball sub I'm about to consume. I grab my wallet, head to the door, and check the peephole. I frown a bit to see Joe on the other side. He holds up the Pino's bag to the hole. I sigh and unlock the door. He gives me his best grin and his eyes darken as he looks me over. I roll my eyes.
"Joe, I wasn't expecting you," I say, trying to keep my voice neutral. He's not exactly the person I want to see after he stormed out of here the other day.
"I was in Pino's when they got the call. I told them I'd pay for it and deliver to you," he replies with a smile, "I wanted to check on you and apologize for the other day."
I decide to let him in. He seems sincere. Maybe I can get some information from him while he's here. We head further inside the apartment. I turn on the TV to a baseball game, Yankees versus the Oakland A's. Not too exciting, but it will do. I close the Mahoney file and push it aside. Joe goes farther in the kitchen, grabbing some beers. I head to the couch. He returns with the food and the subs. I take a swig as he hands me the sub.
"What was up with you yesterday? Your car was parked on the street all night," Joe comments before grabbing his own sandwich out of the bag.
"I was just busy with work yesterday," I say before taking a big bite. I can't help but moan in appreciation. Meatball subs are heaven. "How have you been?" Joe looks a bit pained while he chews. I heard Terri kicked him to the curb after hearing that he wanted to get back with me.
"Good. Same ol' same ol'. Lots of murders," he responds, "I've been pulling a lot of overtime. This is the first night in weeks I haven't been called in." My spidey-sense tingles. Maybe this string of murders has something to do with my FTA.
"Oh really?" I say casually, trying to figure out how to keep him talking. Joe has never been fond of my job and even though we're not together, I don't see him changing his views.
"Yeah, lots of deaths. Mostly drug related. Heroin. Some cocaine. But it's strange because it's not overdoses, but they're druggies," he informs me, his eyes on the game. Hmm…someone is killing off Mahoney's clientele.
"Drug-related but not overdoses?" I question as I take another bite of my sub. I close my eyes as my mouth bursts with the delicious flavor. I moan again. It's been a couple days since I had one of these.
"Damn Cupcake," Joe grunts looking at me with almost completely black eyes. I gulp, my eyes meeting his. Normally, I'd feel inclined to follow up on those bedroom eyes, but the image of naked Terri is burned into my retinas.
"So, the deaths?" I probe taking another drink of beer. Joe nods polishing off the rest of his sub.
"All died from gunshot wounds. And not just any guns. Unmarked ones. Each time left discarded and with prints wiped off. They all come from Ramos though, but we don't have the evidence to prove it." My spidey-sense continues buzzing. Something is definitely going down between the Ramos' and Mahoney's. I guess I need to figure out what. I decide not to push any farther. I don't want Joe to clam up or become suspicious from my curiosity.
We finish watching the game together. It's surprisingly nice to just spend time with him. During a commercial, he looks over to me as the beer dangles from his hand. He runs his free hand through the back of his hair.
"Look Cupcake, I'm sorry for the other day. I shouldn't have yelled and stormed off like I did. I think it's just the stress of this case and knowing you're serious about us being finished," he says in a rueful voice. "It's been six months. I'm sorry it took me so long to realize we're really done. I think we're better as friends." He smiles at me with those chocolate brown eyes.
"Thanks, Joe. I'm glad you agree," I say with a smile as I pat his hand. We look back to the game.
Finally, the game ends (Yankee's win) and I walk Joe to the door. I open it and he lingers in the doorway. He turns, placing his hand on one side of the doorway.
"Listen to Cupcake, this was nice," he says smiling, "maybe we can do it again sometime." I nod.
"Goodnight Joe." He puts two fingers to his forehead and does a little salute. He walks down the hall. I close the door and lock it. I shake my head. I'm glad he's finally realized that we're good as friends and nothing more. I clean up the apartment a little. I turn off the TV, tap Rex's glass to say goodnight and then I turn the lights off.
The next morning, I wake to the ringing of my cell phone. I groan and roll over. I answer it without looking at who's calling.
"Hello?" I mumble into the phone as I squeeze my eyes shut. Maybe I'll roll back to sleep after this.
"Good morning Sunshine," the enthusiastic voice of my partner seems to shout through the phone. I make a groaning noise.
"I hate you," I moan as I bend my elbow and put my arm over my eyes. He chuckles.
"That's no way to talk to your partner," he replies, "I'll bet you'll hate me less if you go answer your door." I uncover my eyes and glare into my empty room. He cannot be serious.
"Go away!" I shout and end the call. I hear knocking on my door. I sigh and throw my covers off of me. I swing my legs out of bed and pad to the front door. I squint through the peephole to see him smiling at me. I roll my eyes and unlock the door. I open the door to Quinn holding a cup of coffee out to me. The white pastry bag in his other hand catches my attention.
"Donuts?" I ask as we head towards the kitchen counter. He grins and sets the bag down carefully while grabbing his cup of coffee with his other hand. I don't know how he brought all that up without spilling anything.
"I figured you deserved some, but don't think this means you're getting out of running," he says with his one dimple smile. I can't help but smile back as I open the bag. Mmm... Boston Cream. I grab one and quickly inhale it. I take a sip of my coffee and sigh as the rush of sugar and caffeine hit my system. Quinn chuckles.
"Wow," he utters shaking his head in awe. I narrow my eyes at him but he just grabs a donut for himself.
"I was thinking we should go talk to Alexander Ramos today," I say leaning with my back against the counter and taking another sip of my coffee. He quirks an eyebrow at me with his mouth full of a bite of donut. Some raspberry filling has dripped out of his mouth. He quickly swallows and his tongue darts out and cleans it. I see he likes donuts just as much as I do. He takes a swallow of coffee.
"The Ramos', why?" he questions looking a little confused. I shoot him a smile.
"Let me get dressed, and I'll fill you in on the way," I tell him as I set my coffee down. I head to my bedroom where I put on a pair of jeans and a red top. I finish up with a pair of black Nikes in case we need to do any running. I go to the bathroom and put on some makeup with a few extra swipes of mascara. I deem myself ready and meet Quinn back in the kitchen. I holster up, stuff the file in my purse, and grab my coffee.
"Alright sweetheart, start talking," he says as we walk down the stairs. I grin at him
"So Joe stopped by last night and mentioned this case he's working on," I explain, "he's been dealing with a lot of murders and guess who- customers of the Bianchi's. But did they die from drugs? Nope, from unmarked guns." Quinn cuts his eyes over to me as he unlocks his car. I head to the passenger side.
"So you think Ramos will actually tell you something?" he questions as he slides behind the wheel. We buckle up and he starts the engine.
"He likes me pretty well, but I think knowing what he thinks about his rival could help," I respond as I pull out the file, "I forgot the other day, but there was one thing on Ian's calendar. He had written Juliet at 2:30 for next Wednesday."
"Juliet?" he asks sounding more confused than I feel. I shrug and mumble an "I don't know."
"Well that's something we'll definitely need to find out," he replies with a glance in my direction.
"Yes definitely. I haven't found anyone named Juliet who is associated with the Bianchi's," I explain before finishing off the last of my coffee. I glance back at my notes again when my phone starts ringing. I look down and see it's my house calling. I sigh, wondering if I'm ready to talk with my mother again. I decide to bite the bullet and I answer.
"Hello?" I say as my eyes roll to the sky. I'm hoping it won't be anything serious.
"Baby granddaughter," the voice of Grandma Mazur shouts through the phone. I feel instantly relieved that I don't have to talk to my mother. A smile breaks out on my face.
"Boy, do I have some news for you," she exclaims happily, "can you stop by for lunch? Sally Sweet's gonna be here too. He said he'd help me find an outfit for my hot date tonight."
"Sure Grandma, you don't want to tell me anything now?" I ask and I see Quinn looking at me as we pull up in front of the Ramos compound. He parks as I wait for Grandma.
"Well, I went out with Nicolas the other night and boy, he did not have good things to say about Ian," she explains, "but I'll tell you the juicy gossip when you come by later."
"Okay, sounds good, thanks Grandma," I reply. I hang up and look over at Quinn. Even though I didn't want my Grandma going out with a Bianchi it sounds like it could be helpful. She already found out information and it's only been a few days.
"Well my grandma has some info on the Bianchi's," I inform him with a grin.
"Your grandma?" he asks incredulously, "how?" I shoot him a mischievous smile and shrug.
"I've got connections, but word is that the Bianchi's aren't a happy little family," I say, "and based on the mother's death, they never have been."
"Yeah, I actually dug up the records from the local PD who used her as an informant," Quinn lets me know, "we can look at those sometime."
"Sounds good. Alright, so I've met Alexander before. I say follow my lead," I say to Quinn, hoping he won't mind taking a backseat to me. I know we're partners so I don't want him to feel like he's not as important.
"Fine by me. What about if he asks who I am?" he questions smartly. I think for a minute about how to approach this. We definitely don't want people to know we're Feds. I smile at the thought. I am a Federal Agent. Wow, that could take some getting used to.
"I'll say I'm training you to become a new bounty hunter," I say coming up with the idea right then and there. He nods in agreement before we're both distracted by the long shadow covering the car. A scary looking man bends down and taps the window. I peek around Quinn and do a little finger wave at the man. I open my door and step out.
"Hi there," I say with a smile as I try to seem non-threatening. I'm sure it's not that difficult to seem non-threatening since I'm just a little white girl from the Burg. I can see the man scan my body though and his eyes linger on the holster and gun. The man I'm looking at is tall, but not as tall as Quinn. He's got muscles on top of muscles and is wearing all mostly black. He's definitely Italian and has a small gold necklace with a crucifix on the end. Quinn chooses now to step out of the car and the man's eyes move quickly to him.
"What are you two doing here?" he questions gruffly, "this is private property." I smile again and Quinn just stays silent.
"Well technically, we're in the street which is public," I mention and then wonder why I would do that. The man crosses his arms and glares.
"But, anyways, we were hoping to speak with Alexander Ramos," I quickly say. He looks us up and down.
"My name is Stephanie Plum," I continue since he hasn't said anything, "Alexander and I are…um…friends." I see the flicker of recognition in his eyes.
"Ah, Ms. Plum, welcome," he says with a grin, "Alexander speaks highly of you. Please, come, come."
Wow, was not expecting this treatment, but hey I'll take what I can get. Quinn looks at me with eyebrows raised as though he can't believe I'm so chummy with an arms dealer. I just send him an innocent smile. Ever since the fiasco with Homer a few years ago, I know they've been more low key after getting an acquittal on all charges. They shipped Homer off somewhere so he couldn't do any more damage to their operations. We follow muscles up to the house. We head inside and find the house relatively empty except for Alexander sitting at a table by the window. I can see the ocean from the window. Alexander looks up when he hears the footsteps. He seems confused for a moment before he sees me. Then his entire face lights up and he stands from the table. I see he has been rolling his own cigarettes.
"Stephanie, my dear!" he exclaims as he comes to give me a hug, "what a surprise!" I smile. Alexander definitely looks older, but I can see the same man behind the extra wrinkles.
"Alexander, you're looking well," I reply and I turn towards Quinn, "this is Quinn. I'm helping show him the ropes to bounty hunting." Alexander's brown eyes go to study Quinn, and he looks him up and down. He frowns a bit.
"I see you found yourself a younger man," he sniffs, grabbing my hand and giving it a kiss, "but he can never give you everything I can." Quinn raises an eyebrow and looks slightly insulted. I laugh.
"No Alexander, really, we're just partners," I reply. He nods.
"Very well, the offer still stands should you take it," he says going back to sit at his table. He motions for us to do the same.
"The reason we're here is that we are looking for Ian Bianchi," I say while he's busy rolling a cigarette. As soon as Bianchi is off my lips his eyes flash towards mine and an angry expression crosses his face.
"Those Bianchi bastards," he spits, pushing back from the table and standing, "worthless scum." I see Quinn's hand go to the gun on his holster, but I put a hand on his arm. His blue eyes are stormy again, but not with anger- he's actually worried about Alexander.
"What can you tell us about them?" I question as he coughs after his little show of anger. I'd say Alexander is in his late 60s with a head full of silvery gray hair. He's got the natural olive toned Italian complexion and probably about fifty extra pounds around his waist.
"They're dirty," he says looking me straight in the eyes. I nod for him to continue.
"We tried scaring them off. This is our turf, after all, and we deal with guns. Not drugs. Drugs are bad for the community," he explains and then shivers, "and something is just not right with that young boy. There are whisperings…you know…they say he killed his own mother." Well, I had thought so based on the report and knowing his mother was a CI. I see Quinn's interest is peaked at that information.
"Do you know why he would kill her?" I ask, wondering if it's common knowledge that she was working against her own family. He shrugs and licks the edge of the cigarette between his hands.
"Nothing solid, just that he's a very disturbed boy," he continues, "I caught him once sniffing around my granddaughter…I would kill him myself if he came around her again." Yikes. I see Quinn give me a look. I guess as FBI we should heavily frown upon those sorts of things.
"Your granddaughter?" I ask a little confused, "I thought Ian was seeing Sarah Shupp?" Alexander pulls out a lighter and lights his hand-rolled cigarette.
"Ah, but he's a young Italian boy," Alexander comments as though that explains everything, "but his relationship was another reason I wanted him away from my sweet Alexandrita." This time I'm the one who looks over at Quinn. I guess she's named after her grandfather.
"Do you have any idea where Ian would be?" I ask knowing he probably doesn't really know anything.
"No idea honestly, but I'll keep an ear to the ground," he says taking a long drag of his cigarette. I leave him a piece of paper with my phone number.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about the string of deaths of some druggies, do you?" I say, asking my last question. His eyes meet mine and I can see something inside his brown eyes…something like he knows.
"No, but I can only assume that if enough of them die they might be too scared to buy from certain sellers," he comments without breaking eye contact with me. I nod slowly.
"Okay well thank you so much, Alexander," I reply moving to stand up, "it was nice seeing you again." I don't particularly enjoy seeing him, but my Burg manners kick in.
"Yes Stephanie, it's always a pleasure. Please, don't be a stranger," he says with a wink as he grabs my hand and presses a kiss on the back of my hand. I smile. He turns to Quinn.
"And you," he says, "watch out for my girl here." Quinn shakes his hand and nods. We leave the house and Alexander moves to the front porch to watch our departure. Quinn starts the car and we take off quickly.