A/N - Everybody loves a good deal with the devil... But which of these two are you more likely to trust? Just a shortie today as off on some business but I will be posting something bigger and Juicier tomorrow... ;-)

Swift was surprisingly compliant as Hale led her into the house. Her eyes were swimming over every surface within an instant but the place was pretty devoid of belongings. She wrinkled her nose, there was barely anything here, certainly nothing worth taking. Fixtures and fittings were a certain market but she didn't really fancy lugging a refrigerator out on the chance she might be able to sell it.

"Nice place," she said absently. Hale laughed.

"It's not, it's a show home. My brother's in property," he said. "American dream home kind of thing."

She snorted at that. If this was the American dream home in this backwater town, she needed to get moving again before her standards slipped too far. "As long as there are sheets on the bed, sweetheart." She gave him a flirtatious smile but Hale gritted his teeth at her. "Oh come on, a cop takes a girl like me to a place like this? What am I meant to think?"

He laughed a little and motioned for her to sit down. When she didn't, he pushed her shoulder down a little more firmly and made her. Swift crumpled into the seat and rested her elbows on the table with her face in her hands as she looked up at him.

"So what happens now?" She looked around, glancing out of the window. "Are you on that MC's payroll too? Like your wrinkly old friend?"

"Unser?" Hale laughed and rolled his eyes, why wasn't he surprised. "No, I'm not. I'm just trying to fix things on my town." He motioned to her nose, eyeing the butterfly stitches. "What happened there?"

She shrugged. "Ran into a door." Hale stepped closer to her, tilting her head into the light. He could see her skin was torn by metal, there was no denying she had been punched. He could already tell she had that same old lady mentality, protecting those assholes from the club.

"That door wearing a ring?"

Hale let go of her and Swift smiled a little. He wasn't stupid, that at least made a difference. She leaned back in her seat as she looked over his uniform, he looked smart and presentable.

"Why are we here, Mr Hale?" she asked, touching her fingers to his name badge. David blushed a little, pulling away from her. Girls like her were full of charm and, as much as he enjoyed her little flirtation, he knew better than to get sidetracked.

"Clay Morrow told me to look out for you," Hale said. "Any reason why that might be?"

"Clearly a matchmaker," she teased, curling her hair on her fingers. "Must think we'd go well together. I bet we'd... fit just right."

He laughed nervously, Jesus she was good. The way her mouth moved, the way every word could be so deliciously sexual, it was already drawing him in.

"I figured you must have upset him," Hale said. He could see Swift getting to her feet, pacing around the room after him like a cat with a mouse, trying to corner him. "Morrow, he doesn't let go of things easily."

"Neither do I." There was a glimmer in her eyes that made Hale nervous. Who exactly had he brought into this house? She wasn't armed but suddenly he didn't feel so comfortable even having a gun on him just in case she managed to get at it.

"I thought maybe we could come to an arrangement." Hale realised he should have worded it differently when she started to unbutton her shirt-dress. He held up his hands awkwardly, covering her. "Jesus, no, not like that!"

Swift jabbed her teeth down into her lip and her eyes welled up instantly. "What?" She pulled her clothes tight around her, looking mortified. "I thought... oh, Christ. I am so embarrassed."

The first fat tear she forced down her cheek was enough for David to step forward to comfort her. "Hey, no, I mean, you're lovely, but." He put his arms around her but backed away as he felt her hand straying just a little too close to his gun. "You know who SAMCRO are, and you know which side of the law I'm on." He could see her eyes searching his expression. "I'm after Clay. The rest of them are small fry compared to him, he's the one I want."

It was a punt but her blunt reaction to jokes about Clay Morrow made him sure that he was the one that had smacked her one. He could see her chewing it over and he smiled a little.

"He's a bad man," he said. "I just need... something. Something small to bring him in on, I can do the rest." When she didn't say anything, he tried again. "Did he hit you? A domestic abuse charge-"

"I am no victim of domestic abuse," she snapped quickly, becoming more aggressive, her body language growing tight. Hale motioned to her hand.

"No? So what happened there?"

She looked at it to see her broken thumb was swollen and sore. She smiled a little and held it up to him. "Sex accident," she said with a wry smile. "My choice, don't worry."

"What is it you want?" Hale asked, studying her carefully. "Money? I can pay you, if that's what this is about."

"What do you think I am? Some sort of informant?" She laughed. "You ever heard the phrase 'honour amongst thieves,' Mr Hale?" She smirked and wet her lips. "Or are you saying I have no honour?"

"No ma'am." He smiled. "But I also don't think you're a thief. I think you're an opportunist trying to get by. Like we all are." He made a bold move and held her cheek for a second, trying to find some sort of connection with her. Swift's eyes gazed up at him timidly.

"Are you going to set me on the straight and narrow, officer?" she asked softly. Hale laughed, he could see why she was so good. That little glimmer, the one that made a man think he could own her, he couldn't even imagine how many men had fallen for it.

"Help me lock down Clay," he said. "Get him back for this," he added, stroking his thumb over the bandages on her nose. She closed her eyes and swallowed down the pain, there was no possible way to explain how badly she wanted to tear Clay Morrow apart for what he had done. "I'll put you on payroll. An advisor. Good money, and I'll assure you safe passage wherever you're going as soon as we're done. It'll be worth more than whatever you earn from your... pickings."

She pursed her lips. "What do you want me to do? Go and play nice?"

"Make some friends," Hale advised. "Juice, he's a nice kid. Go spend a little time with him, be friendly. The Scot, too." He saw a smile curl on her lips. "Unless you've already made friends there," he chuckled.

"No more than four weeks," she demanded. "And you pay me for three months, regardless." Hale nodded, he could swing that, it would be worth it to have the head of the MC inside. Clay was selfish, he'd give someone over for a little more leg room in his cell.

"I can make that work. But I need something concrete, on Clay. Something he's done, something he's going to do." He smiled. "I'll make it worth your while."

Swift pursed her lips. "Let me think on it," she said. "I'll need a place to stay. A phone. And a car. And disposable income, expenses and shit." She was already sure she'd be able to get a decent cash deposit on any property he put her in before she skipped town, this could be a tidy little moneymaker. Hale nodded.

"Okay, I'll sort it out. Four weeks," he said. "Any problems, you call me and we'll arrange to meet. Understood?"

"I'll swing by in the morning," she said. "Go back there tonight, calm a few things down. We'll speak then?"

Hale nodded, he would take that. "I'm trusting you, Swift." She smiled at that and stepped close to him, kissing the corner of his mouth with delicious precision as she murmured,

"I know."