The ride to the Psych office was short and silent. Both detectives were lost in their thoughts, anxious about what they were going to find. Juliet was out of the car as soon as her partner pulled up in the parking lot and entered the office. Crime scene tape still covered the front door, but Gus had given them his key earlier to allow them access to the place.

Carlton locked up his car and followed her with only a short moment of hesitation. The usually so bright and lively boardwalk was rather abandoned with just a few snack vendors left, most people probably scared off by the bust they'd made earlier.

"Hey," one of them called out to him, eyeing Juliet who was disappearing into the house. "Do you know how Shawn is?"

Carlton frowned, speechless for a moment. "He's fine. Being patched up as far as I know."

The man nodded, relieved. "That's good. Tell him to get well soon, will you? Name's Mike." He heaved a quick laugh. "Shawn will know me."

A woman holding an ice cream cone was passing by them and looked up sharply at the name. "Oh no, Shawn's not good? I hope he gets better soon!"

Carlton barely refrained from rolling his eyes and followed his partner into the small rental. Only Spencer would befriend all those strange people.

He found Juliet standing in the middle of the office, looking at the mess that had been made earlier by the paramedics coming in and the happenings before. "If we wouldn't have gotten that tip..." She trailed off.

Carlton gritted his teeth, not liking that he had to agree with her. "Come on," he waved at the couch and made his way to Spencer's desk, curiously looking it over. "I'll look if I find that file he's had in the station."

Juliet didn't move, just turned around to stare at the couch. "Do we really want to know?"

"What do you mean?" Carlton frowned and opened a few drawers to look through them. A few blocks of paper, children's toys and other knick-knacks, one of the two office phones. One drawer was actually filled with a massive amount of paper balls, no doubt some kind of childish nonsense Spencer and Guster had cooked up.

"I mean... what if Shawn really has a gun?" Carlton looked up from his work to find Juliet still hadn't moved.

"So what? He's going to have to explain it. Maybe he's gotten it as some kind of protection when he started this whole... psychic nonsense." He waved all around them.

Juliet looked back at him. "But that's not like him. He always talks his way out of it. And why wouldn't he tell us?"

Carlton rolled his eyes and stood up when he spotted Shawn's phone on the other table. "Believe it or not, but Spencer's very protective of Guster. I can see him getting a gun for a case like this." He picked up the phone easily and turned on the screen to see various missed calls on it. "Also, he does have secrets. You should know that."

"Right," Juliet agreed quietly. "I'm just a friend at work."

"What?" Carlton asked absent-mindedly, having managed to see some of the calls. One was from Abigail, Spencer's girlfriend. Two other were from a caller named 'Captain'.

"Nothing." Juliet shook her head and decidedly got on the ground to peer under the couch.

"Here are two calls from a Captain," Carlton informed her. "Must be McCoy from the LAPD."

Juliet hummed. "Makes sense. They probably do have contact about this case." Carlton came over to watch as his partner looked up at him. "There is something here," she said hesitantly.

Carlton pulled a glove out of his pocket and gave it to her. A few seconds later she stood next to him and dusted herself off, a glove-covered hand holding a gun.

They both stared at the weapon for a few moments, neither knowing what to say. "So, he was telling the truth," Juliet finally managed, referring to the man in custody at the station.

"That's the kind of gun he's got a license on," Carlton said, remembering what McNab had told them right before they went to get the assailant out of the holding cells. "With any luck there are prints on it."

"Lassiter," Juliet reminded him. "He was telling the truth. How does Shawn have a gun?"

"I don't know, O'Hara," he said, annoyed. He wasn't sure what annoyed him the most: Juliet's shock, the mystery revolving around Spencer or the fact that he didn't have any clue what was going on. "We need to ask him that ourselves, don't you think?"

Juliet shook her head and put the weapon in the evidence bag her partner held open for her. "No. We need to talk to Chief Vick about this. We're already acting outside our control. She won't be happy if we hold her off any longer."

Carlton grimaced, not at all okay with the conversation they were going to have. But he could hardly deny that his partner was right. "Fine."

Chief Vick looked up from her paperwork when the door to her office opened without knocking. She raised her eyebrows dangerously at the grim expression on her two detectives faces, her eyes locking on the evidence bag with a gun in it in their hands. Apprehension settled deep down in her stomach.

"What can I do for you, detectives?" She forced herself to say and set her pen down.

Carlton and Juliet exchanged a glance before he laid the gun down on her table. "Chief," he paused, gathering his thoughts. "We're sure that Spencer is in danger. We found this in the Psych office, confirming the claims of the man we arrested earlier. Spencer is in possession of a weapon."

Of course he was, the chief thought and kept herself from sighing. She'd recognized Shawn's gun the moment she'd seen it in evidence. She'd just hoped no one would find anything out until she'd sorted this mess out with him.

Juliet spoke up hesitantly. "We know Shawn's working on a case you gave him," she said. "Along with the LAPD. And we know it connects to Sam Deleon, an ex-detective of the LAPD. Seeing as Shawn's obviously a target for whoever he is investigating..."

She trailed off when she saw the frown on her superior's face. Carlton looked between them and picked up what she said. "We think we should be let in on the case, at least to protect him from anymore escapades like today."

Chief Vick leaned back in her chair, thinking about the request for a minute. She wasn't going to tell them what Shawn really was - she did realize that it wouldn't end very well, especially with Lassiter's rivalry between them. Shawn had a good enough reason to keep what happened to himself, and she wouldn't - actually couldn't reveal what he'd trusted her with.

On the other hand, these were her two best detectives and they were her best for a reason, too. Despite Shawn's efforts to keep everything to himself, they were close. Not quite close enough to find anything good yet, but if she wouldn't keep them distracted, they might find out about things they wouldn't when involved with the case.

She did give Shawn a promise, though.

"This is not my place to tell you," she said, finally. "Frankly it is out of my jurisdiction. Mr. McCoy approached Mr. Spencer himself, who, in turn, approached me about the matter. I'm sorry but you will not be able to help with their case."

Juliet looked shocked at her revelation and Carlton's jaw dropped in surprise. "Chief... you're going to let Spencer run around with a target on his back? He's a civilian!"

They were interrupted by Buzz McNab hesitantly opening the door to the office. "Um..." He squirmed a little, obviously feeling the tension in the room. "There are two detectives out here, from Los Angeles. They said they need to speak with you, Chief."

"Bring them in." The chief stood up, nodding. The attention of her detectives was immediately back on her and she waited until the door was closed once again. "Detectives, I can assure you I will do anything in my power to keep Mr. Spencer safe. However, it is not my call to make whether or not you can take part in this case. I will ask you this once to keep this whole matter to yourself and not to investigate further."

"But, Chief..." Juliet started but Chief Vick silenced her with a simple look.

"The LAPD and Mr. Spencer are quite capable. I need you with your own work. Do I make myself clear?"

Carlton gritted his teeth in anger, but nodded. "Yes, Chief."

"Good," she said and walked around the table to stand in front of them, noticing Buzz outside the doors with two men. "Now, take this gun down to forensics to dust it for fingerprints. After that, please bring back the gun you impounded earlier."She waited for them to nod and then continued. "You are dismissed."

Just as she expected, the unfamiliar detectives didn't beat around the bush. With a quick look Karen recognized the older man as Captain McCoy of the LAPD, whom she'd looked up out of curiosity after Shawn had talked to her. He seemed to know her too, his expression one of respect and pride.

The other man was younger - in his late twenties, Karen guessed - and still had some rookie flair around him. However, his eyes held a certain amount of maturity she recognized whenever she had seen Shawn serious about a matter. He had to be well-respected to be allowed to accompany his superior to a trip like this.

"Captain Robert McCoy," the older, salt-and-pepper-haired man introduced himself gruffly, holding a hand out. "This is Detective Cesáreo Prieto Martinez. We're here to discuss the matter of Shawn Spencer's involvement in the Deleon case. I take it you know outlines of the case?"

Karen nodded sharply, keeping her thoughts to herself. She had a feeling it was for the best to let this man talk first.

"Good," McCoy nodded, satisfied. "First off I want to thank you in the name of the LAPD for saving one of our fellow detectives and, also, for being so discrete about everything. I'm sure your detectives don't like being out of the loop."

Karen nodded and followed Detective Martinez look outside to where Carlton was standing near the coffee machine, glancing at them while his partner was dropping off the gun at forensics. "They managed to gain a considerable amount of information despite Mr. Spencer's best efforts to keep them out of it. I will try to keep them busy in the near future, however I can't guarantee that they won't try to investigate further. They are stubborn that way."

McCoy nodded and noticed the small, proud smile on her lips that followed her words. He knew that feeling all to well.

Karen turned her look back on him and crossed her arms over her chest calmly. "You understand that I'm very forthcoming with my help on this?"

McCoy nodded, flinching slightly. "Yes. Again, we are grateful for that."

Karen nodded and paused for a moment before she levelled her stare on the other man in her office. "I trust you will do absolutely everything to ensure Mr. Spencer's safety during this investigation, following today's events?" They nodded, deeply serious. "It's my turn to thank you for your tip," Karen told McCoy whose lips curled into a small smile. "Without your help, Mr. Spencer and Mr. Guster could've been seriously injured without our knowledge."

"We're just doing our job," McCoy replied, relieved to hear that Shawn's injuries seemed minor. He didn't quite believe Lynn when they'd talked over the phone - Shawn was in the hospital, still, after all.

Karen spoke up again. "Can I expect an update on the case?"

McCoy nodded immediately. "Of course. We still need to check in with Mr. Spencer, to gather more information on the assault. However, we have reason to believe that Sam Deleon took on a fake persona based on Mr. Spencer."

Martinez took over and pulled a small booklet out of his jacket pocket, showing the inside to Karen. Her eyebrows rose in wonder at the name 'Shawn Spencer' written on the passport, right next to a picture of a blond haired, young man.

"Although we are missing out on hard evidence, we believe that our earlier assumption that Mr. Deleon settled down in Santa Barbara is wrong," Martinez told her. Karen nodded, getting where he was coming from. "Therefore, we are going to take out investigation mainly back to LA. This should solve most jurisdictional issues or problems with Mr. Spencer's employment."

"I'm glad to hear that," Karen agreed. "I will tell my officers to keep their eyes open and look for Mr. Deleon, just in case. Do you have any leads regarding Mr. Deleon's whereabouts as of now?"

The detectives exchanged a quick look before McCoy spoke again. "We need to talk to Mr. Spencer first to find that out, Chief. However, we still do have... ways up our sleeve."

Karen raised her eyebrows in wonder but didn't expect an explanation. "Alright. Do you need anything else from my part or are we finished?" The chief wasn't stupid - she knew they were going to drop a bomb soon, and she wanted to get it over with. She was quite curious what they were planning, actually, but at the same time a rather apprehensive feeling settled in her gut.

Martinez started up again. "Well, first of we'd like to get Mr. Spencer's weapon back, seeing as of everything we know by now it isn't part of the investigation against the suspected assailant."

Karen nodded, getting slightly impatient. "I'm having my detective getting the gun right now."

"Also," Martinez continued. "We'd like to try and gather any information of said assailant during a confrontation. We suspect he's apart of the gang that's involved in our case."

The chief bent her head slightly, thinking about the request for a second. "I think that's manageable."

Martinez nodded in thanks, pausing to gather his thoughts for a minute. The door behind them opened quietly and Juliet slipped in, holding the requested gun in her hands and looking slightly sheepish. She eyed the young detective from the side, but thankfully kept quiet and handed the gun over to her superior.

When she'd left Martinez eye sight, the detective spoke again, determined to get it out quickly. "We'd like to take Mr. Spencer to LA with us." Karen's eyebrows shot up at his words and even Juliet stopped dead in her tracks, still in the doorway. McCoy watched her closely, analysing her reaction, so she tried to steel her face.

"I agree with you," she said hesitantly. "It would be for the best."

McCoy nodded, tilting his head in recognition. "Thank you, Chief," he told her grimly. "With your permission, Mr. Spencer and Mr. Guster will leave with us to Los Angeles later tonight so we can provide the best security for them. Particularly Mr. Spencer is part of the other investigation right now, needing your allowance to leave."

"I will sign the paperwork during your interrogation," Karen agreed and watched over their shoulders how Juliet left to her partner, a shocked look on her face. "Gang's are quite closely connected. There might be other people out there who want to hurt Mr. Spencer." She hesitated for a second. "If you don't mind, I'd like to come to the hospital with you to get Mr. Spencer's current info on the case."

"Of course," McCoy nodded. His partner looked relieved at how smoothly everything had gone. "Where are the interrogation rooms?"

Karen inclined her head at Buzz who was looking in from through the glass doors, alert. The young officer entered immediately. "Officer McNab will take you down to Interrogation Room B and set everything up for you." She paused for a moment. "Good luck, detectives."

Dear God, that's taken so long. I'm so sorry, guys, but soon my exams will be over and I'll invest more time into this story, promise. I tried to make it up with a new story arch starting up. We'll get to see the LA team soon! Yay! I'm really curious how I'll make the chemistry between Shawn, Martinez (and Gus) work, I bet they'd make one hell of a team.

Oh, and thanks to a request in another review earlier, I remembered to make Henry speak up another time, soon, too! Thank you!

Now, I've teased enough. Until next time!