Disclaimer: Since I am not famous or rolling in money, I obviously do not own Final Fantasy VIII.

Chapter Warning: Some light swearing and drunkenness.

Chapter Summary: Squall and Rinoa struggle to keep vigil as they wait for the opportunity that could make this case.

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The Force

Chapter Ten

Welcome to the graveyard shift, Rinoa thought dully, yawning until her jaw cracked. She craned her neck to see Squall's watch. 12:55 AM and not a single useful transmission. Other than a hilariously pathetic attempt at phone sex, Tim Monroe had made no unusual phone calls.

Raijin was slumped on the desk, snoring loud enough to blow the roof off. Much to Rinoa's amusement, Squall had fallen asleep as well. His head rested on his arms and his shoulders gently rose and fell with each breath.

Ever so carefully, Rinoa pulled the headphones off of Squall's head, his hair tickling her hand as she pulled the headphones free. She slipped them over her own ears. Thankfully, he didn't stir.

She didn't seem to be the only one interested in the fact that the usually vigilant Lieutenant had fallen asleep. A gleeful Zell carefully taped a sign that said "PANSY" on Squall's back and snapped a picture with his cell phone. After having her laugh, Rinoa wisely decided to pluck the sign off before blood was shed.

For a while, she just sat back and watched him sleep. She was intrigued by the transformation that had occurred right before her eyes. He was not Detective Lieutenant Squall Leonhart when he slept. He was something else, something more simple and vulnerable. There was none of the spite and the stoniness he wore during the day. Then Rinoa felt a pang in her stomach as she imagined what Squall must see when he closed his eyes.

She sipped at coffee that tasted like scorched cardboard. Why are we here? She groaned inwardly. Anybody in their right mind would be asleep now.

Quistis passed by the ED on her way to her office. When she saw Squall and Raijin, she stopped short and rolled her eyes. "You try to get good help around here…" she muttered, shaking her head.

"Don't wake him up," Rinoa said. "He's had a long day."

Quistis smiled. "I'm glad to see your concern for him, but they're both on the clock." She carefully rolled up the sleeves of her work jacket and gave both Squall and Raijin a sharp swat on the back of the head.

They both jumped. "Hey!" Raijin squawked.

"Back to work, gentlemen," Quistis commanded imperiously. As Quistis strode out, Rinoa could've sworn that she smiled fiendishly.

Squall rubbed the back of his head absently. "How long have I been out?" He turned his chair to face her, tugging the headphones off her head.

"Mmm…about a half hour," Rinoa answered, spinning around in her chair. The room whirled by and blurred as she spun faster and faster.

He scowled. "You should've woken me up. And cut it out before you get sick."

She stopped abruptly, her head spinning as nausea washed over her. She stood up, staggering around the room like a drunk. "Well, pardon me for wanting you to get more sleep. Ow!" she exclaimed as she careened right into the desk. "I told Quistis not to wake you."

He watched her with a cocked eyebrow, evidently amused by her antics. "Yeah, well, it's not the first time that I've gotten a Quistis beatdown," he replied.

"She doesn't hit like a girl," Raijin complained.

Rinoa was still stumbling around. "OK, I'm never doing that again."

"I told you," Squall said. "Did we get any transmissions?"

She shrieked as she tripped over Squall's leg and landed hard on the floor.

"God," Squall said exasperatedly. He offered a hand to help her up.

She rolled over, laughing so hard that she had to hold her sides. Raijin giggled and Squall rolled his eyes even though he had the tiniest hint of a smile on his face.

Quistis came by the ED again to see what the noise was all about, and she found Rinoa cracking up in a heap at Squall's feet, Raijin helpless with giggles, and Squall trying to look bored but failing. She sighed, but she couldn't help but laugh herself.

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After they had calmed down, Squall asked, "I forgot to ask. How did that interview with Thetis go?"

Rinoa eased herself off the floor. "Um. Fine," she lied.

"No problems whatsoever?" he asked skeptically. "What did she tell you?"

She sat back down in her chair. "She hasn't had any contact from any members over the last year. But she thinks that the Ring is definitely involved," she answered. She paused and looked over at him. "But you already knew that, didn't you?"

He nodded. "But confirmation never hurts. What'd you think of her, anyway?"

Rinoa thought for a bit, then shrugged. "I liked her, I guess. She's the last person that I'd suspect of anything. A bit of a drama queen, though."

He nodded again, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, I've got a question."

"That's new."

"Well, since Thetis co-founded the Ring and all, you could've arrested her ten times over," Rinoa began, ignoring his comment. "I mean…why didn't you?"

Squall paused. "I guess that's a good question," he replied, not looking at her directly.

"She would've confessed and everything," she continued. "It sorta seems like a no-brainer."

Squall drummed his fingers on the desk erratically, a nervous habit. "Dozens of people have died in Thetis's name," he said quietly. "That's true. But," he went on. "It wouldn't have really changed anything if I took her in. She's not in control of them anymore."

He trailed off, rubbing his chin as he stared into space. "Believe me, I was this close to arresting her," he confessed. "But even I know that Thetis Doyle isn't really guilty of anything." He suddenly looked even more tired.

"Well, um…that's really good of you," Rinoa managed. Could I do that? Could I do what was right instead of what I wanted to do? She doubted it, given her lack of self-control. "What happens now?"

"We wait," he replied simply.

She sighed. "I was afraid of that."

He leaned back. "Go home. I've got it under control here."

She managed to grin and shake her head. "Nope. I'm not missing a thing."

"I'm going to call you anyway if I get anything," he pointed out.

"Nah. And besides," she said, nudging him amiably. "We can suffer together."

He shrugged, and he found that he didn't really mind if she stayed.

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"What are you guys still doing here?" Selphie exclaimed. She was on her way out, her jacket slung over her shoulder.

"Hangin' out. We do this all the time," Rinoa joked.

"It's past one. When are you guys leaving?"

"Possibly never."

"Damn, Rin! That bites. Here, I'll stay with you for a while. You're probably bored to death already, and I don't have anything better to do," Selphie announced, sitting down. Squall looked mildly horrified.

Seconds later, Irvine waltzed in, having heard Selphie's voice. "He-ey, Selphie darlin'," he sang.

"And there he is, the bane of my existence," Selphie groaned.

"Aw, you know I'm just kidding."

"What are you still doing here, anyway?" Selphie complained.

Irvine rolled his eyes. "Paperwork. Some idiot fires off a pistol at some rally, I bag him, and it's like I'm being punished."

"That's the way it works," a voice from the door replied. Zell was leaning against the door frame. "What's up, guys? Slumber party?"

Rinoa shot a look at Squall. She grinned and raised her eyebrow as if to say, What IS this? He rolled his eyes.

"Man! What is it, 'Everybody Work Late' Day?" Selphie cried. "Don't you guys have lives?"

"You're here," Irvine pointed out. "And you pretty much give up all prospects of having a life once you join the force, eh?"

"I hear that," Zell agreed. "My ma's going crazy 'cuz I haven't had time to see her or anything. She's like 'make time!' but you can't make time if you're with Lieutenant Assho—I mean Seifer…"

Soon, they were all settled comfortably throughout the ED. Irvine even managed to find a mostly-full bottle of champagne.

"Where'd you get that?" Selphie asked, eyeing the bottle with interest.

"It's left over from Xu's farewell party," Irvine answered, grinning as he filled six paper cups.

"You guys are on duty," Squall hissed, frowning with disapproval.

"I'm not," Selphie said loftily. "I clocked out." She took a cup.

"And people are boring when they're too sober," Irvine chimed in. "Come on, Squall." Squall shook his head vehemently.

"Man, Quistis is gonna freak," Zell said, but he still snagged a cup.

"Rin?" Irvine asked, offering a cup. Rinoa was about to take it, but when she saw Squall glaring in her direction, she decided against it.

Irvine shrugged. "I'll drink yours then." Soon enough, Selphie, Zell, Irvine, and Raijin were all slightly tipsy. Eventually, the conversation turned to complaining about their job.

"So why'd you guys join the force, anyway?" Irvine asked suddenly.

Selphie's cheeks were tinged pink, and she was sitting much closer to Irvine than she would have if she was sober. "Because I love working with dogs," she announced. "And I love kicking ass."

"More like you love being a killjoy," Irvine teased.

That earned him an elbow in the ribs. "Shut up."

Zell swallowed another gulp of champagne. "I wanted to do it 'cuz of my gramps. He was a detective sergeant, and the coolest guy ever. When I was a kid, man, I wanted to be just like him. He was my freakin' hero. How 'bout you, Irvine?"

Irvine grinned. "The only other place that pays you to be good at using guns is the military. Most people on the force are crap shots. No offense," he added, flashing a smile to the detectives in the room. "But I'm pretty much unparalleled. You, Rin?"

"Oh, I don't know. I wanted to be a cop ever since I was a little kid. I can't pin it down to one specific reason." She looked over her shoulder at her partner and smiled. "Care to share, Squall?"

"Not really."

"Come on, Squall!" Selphie exclaimed.

"It's a long story."

"Just tell us, it's not gonna kill you," Irvine reasoned.

"I just wanted to, OK?" Squall snapped.

"Wow, that's a really long story," Zell said sarcastically. "Come on, man."

"Aw, leave him alone, guys," Rinoa chided, laughing.

"Yeah, okay," Irvine said, checking his watch and yawning. "I guess we've bugged you guys enough anyway. And I wanna sleep."

"I don't wanna drive home," Selphie groused. She rose unsteadily.

Irvine grinned wickedly. "Well, I'd love to escort you, Selphie."

"I'm not THAT drunk!" she said hotly, tottering out the door. "Bye, guys!"

"Better luck next time, Irvine," Rinoa said.

Irvine chuckled. "Oh yeah. She knows it's all in good fun. At least I think she does. Later, Rin."

"Try not to lose your mind!" Zell added. "Fat chance," he mouthed, glancing at Squall.

Rinoa laughed and waved her arms at the door. "Get out of here. Shoo! Go live your lives," she joked.

After they left, Rinoa sat back and sighed. "This is driving me nuts. Who in their right mind would call at a time like this? What are we still doing here?" she groaned.

"Members of the Ring check in with the boss no matter what time it is. And I already said you could go home," Squall muttered.

She turned to look at him. "I already said that I'm not going to. And how come you don't talk to them?" she asked.

"Who?" he said, even though he knew exactly what she was talking about.

"You know who I mean. Selphie and the rest." She rubbed her eyes. "They think you don't like them."

"Well…"

"Never mind," Rinoa interrupted hastily. "It's just that you could be a little nicer."

He didn't say anything for a while. "Why let people drag you down?" he said finally. She knew that he was talking about the champagne.

There was a long silence. Do I drag you down, Squall? She couldn't help feeling a bit hurt.

Surprisingly, it was Squall who broke the heavy silence. "Eveann faxed me the results on the bullet while you were out."

"Oh…yeah," she responded distractedly. "What'd they say?"

"The bullet's a .22 short," Squall answered. "Lead plated with copper. High accuracy, low recoil, and low noise. It's basically the assassin's choice." There was something like satisfaction on Squall's face. "It's also the bullet that the ROT uses on all of their missions."

"Get out. Seriously?" Rinoa asked.

Squall nodded. "They come pretty cheap, and the Ring doesn't have much in terms of funding."

"Well, see?" Rinoa said happily. "We've got evidence! We'll show 'em."

"It's not going to go very far," Squall replied. But he still smiled thinly.

"So what's the plan?"

"Once we get a transmission that we can use, Raijin's gonna trace it to the location. And I'll probably get a warrant to search the place. Then I'm gonna keep an eye on Monroe's comings and goings so we can follow him to a meeting. That's when we bust 'em."

"Good plan!" Rinoa said enthusiastically. "Sounds like a lot of waiting, though."

"It will be," Squall responded. "And something's likely to go wrong. But for now, that's how it's going to go down." He paused to yawn. "How's the studying going?"

"Awful. It's like being in college again," Rinoa said, making a face. She had been poring over handbooks until her eyes ached for the past two weeks. "But I guess this stuff is more interesting than Comp Sci, huh?"

College student, huh? "What did you major in?"

She looked at her hands, suddenly reddening. "Economics," she mumbled.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with that?"

She sat back and scowled. "I hated it," she answered sourly.

"So why'd you do it?" he asked. Why so curious? he asked himself.

"No fair!" she cried. "I'll tell you when you tell me why you joined the force. Deal?"

Squall didn't seem particularly inclined to share.

"You're annoying," Rinoa huffed.

"Ouch."

"But seriously, why does everything have to be a big secret?" she snapped. "I mean, is it really the end of the world is someone knows stuff about you?"

"Well, why do you want to know, anyway?" Squall demanded.

That, Rinoa realized, was a very good question that she didn't know the answer to. "I don't know. It's just annoying."

"I'm very hurt," he said dryly.

"You know what, I'm just not gonna talk to you!" she announced. She turned around and sat with her back to him, arms crossed.

"Works for me," Squall said, shrugging.

Barely two minutes passed when Rinoa started fidgeting and sighing. Finally, she turned around and said, "What time is it? I don't have my watch."

"It's almost three."

"Thank you," she said, her voice dignified. Then she turned right back around and stopped speaking to him again.

He stared at her back, somewhat bewildered. What just happened? She looked like a kid that had just been put in time-out. For some reason, it made him want to laugh, but he coughed instead.

By 4:15, she had fallen asleep. Her hair was draped over her face and she twitched occasionally. Squall continually pinched himself on the arm to keep himself from drifting off. (As a result, the skin on his arm turned a mottled, painful pink.)

He tapped his index finger impatiently on the headphones. Come on. Give me something. He knew it couldn't be long now, but the minutes felt like hours.

The entire station was empty and silent as a tomb. Even Quistis had left. But before she had gone, Squall had made sure to secure a search warrant for wherever the Ring's hideout was. At least I've got plenty of time to wait.

He looked disdainfully at the dozing Raijin. Useless. What if we get a transmission, huh?

He sighed, gave himself another sharp pinch on the arm, and waited.

It was 4:42 when the call came in. "Boss," Tim Monroe's reedy voice implored.

Squall snapped to attention immediately, his exhaustion forgotten. "Raijin. Raijin. Wake up." When Raijin still snored, Squall rolled his eyes and slapped him on the side of the head. "This is it. Come on, trace it."

Yawning, Raijin obeyed. "It's gonna take a minute, ya know?" he said wearily. Squall listened to the call.

"Why, Tim, it's a bit early for social calls," a silky voice responded. Squall narrowed his eyes. Whose voice was this? He didn't recognize it.

"It's important, Boss. I…" Tim trailed off. "I think they're watching me."

"Who is watching you?" the boss said, a trace of impatience in his voice.

"The cops, Boss, Leonhart…all of them! You said that you wouldn't let them take me in…" Tim's voice was frantic and manic now.

"That still stands, Tim. I haven't forgotten."

"They're watching me, I know it! They're gonna come and get me! You have to do something!" Tim screamed.

"Got it," Raijin told Squall.

"Write down the address," Squall ordered. He clamped the headphones to his ear intently.

The boss's voice had turned cold. "I want you to hang up the phone right now, Tim. You've deliberately put us in danger by making this call. Is that what you wanted?"

"No," Tim muttered mutinously. He hung up.

Too late, Squall thought. I've got you. "Got it, Raijin?"

Raijin nodded, handing Squall a slip of paper with an address on it.

"Lovely," he said absently, pocketing it. He motioned to Rinoa. "Wake her up. We're going."

Rinoa stirred and lifted her head. "What's goin' on?" she said, her voice slurred from sleepiness.

"You're speaking to me again, I see," he remarked dryly.

"Call it a temporary truce," she said, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"We're going."

"Well, I guessed that, but tell me what's going on!" she demanded, planting herself in his path.

He didn't look annoyed with her, as he would have normally. Instead, his eyes looked slightly triumphant and adventurous. He looked five years younger.

"Feeling lucky?"

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There you have it! Next chapter is definitely going to be pretty exciting.

To those who think that this story is almost over…fear not. It is far from the end.

Later,

peridotaurora