Mike pulled his revolver, instantly aiming it at what was to come, and stepping several inches off to the side for additional cover. Both Haley and the taller Hassejian pressed themselves against the wall, expecting a shootout and ducking for protection.

A strong flinch went through Mike's body as he recognized the person inside the door from the file photo. Gagged and with her arms tied behind her back, Henderson's daughter Jordan was being pushed toward the hallway, her bright blue eyes widening in surprise when she saw the Lieutenant.

Behind her, a self-confident McAllister came into view, his short brown hair shiny with sweat and a greedy smile spreading on his lips- at least for as long as he thought he was alone.

The moment his dark and calculating eyes met those of Mike, he brutally grabbed Jordan's shoulder, pulling the terrified woman back into his office. Trying to close the door with the hand that was holding a revolver, Mike quickly nodded at Haley, who rushed forward and used his body mass to push through the entrance.

The move had both, startled McAllister and allowed for Mike and Norm to enter the elaborately furnished office with their guns drawn. In obvious discontent of what his immediate future held, the businessman raised the revolver to Jordan's head, as he slowly circled his desk to add more room between himself and the detectives.

"Lower your weapon. It's over, Mister McAllister."

Mike's growl was almost drowned out by a well-timed cheer from the crowd below. Glancing back and forth between all three police officers, the man weighed his option for several tense moments. In her position as a human shield, Jordan cried desperately, her sobs muffled by the red napkin across her mouth.

"Clear the way or she will die."

The threat made the woman moan frantically, as she tried to wiggle her way out of McAllister's tight grasp on her upper arm, only to have him shake her so violently, that her black hair fell forward, almost covering her face.

"If we clear the way, she will die regardless.", Mike said in a low voice, slowly stepping forward as he aimed his Special at McAllister's head, "We have read you like a book. We know what you did to Sally. We also know you worked with Emilio Aldarez and Freddie Moreno. And that you killed Aldarez."

"Let's say your allegations were true, then you should know that I will not hesitate to take another life."

Taking a deep breath, Mike raised his gun slightly, noting both Haley and Hassejian looking over at him peripherally.

"And neither will I, Mister McAllister."

Trying hard to contain his anger at a situating that had played out exactly as he had fretted it would, Mike took a deep breath, keeping stern eye contact with their suspect. In her panic, Jordan glanced back and forth between the detectives, quietly begging for them to stop the madman.

"You know, my lawyers will have me out again in no time. You can't charge me with anything. You don't have enough evidence. You know that and I do."

Mike knew that the arrogant whining was meant to upset him more than anything, and he took another step closer, his thighs touching the front of McAllister's desk.

He wanted to bark another order at the man, tell him what a rotten thug he was, preying on young women to satisfy his primitive needs, then try to murder his partner to cover up the crime. Deep inside, he even wanted to punch him, not that it would make any difference at all.

But then suddenly, it hit him.

After spending days trying to track down their illusive killer, doing exactly what had been expected of them, perhaps, it was time to change the rules of the game a little bit into their favor.

Stop following the carefully laid out trial of breadcrumbs and take a detour. Beat McAllister at his own game of half-truths, clouds of smoke and charming smiles that were as insincere as the man himself.

The problem was that Mike only had one chance to end this situation without a bloodshed.

It was time to put on his best poker face.

Glancing up from underneath his fedora, he smiled faintly, putting as much confidence in his body language as possible. Straightening out his shoulders, Mike lowered his gun slightly; just enough to appear insecure, before grunting in feign defeat.

"You're right, Mister McAllister. We really don't have a whole lot of physical evidence at this point."

Hearing both, Haley and Hassejian draw in a deep breath; Mike shook his head and shrugged.

"We have circumstantial evidence at best when it comes to Sally Howard's murder. And we've got a drugged up cop downstairs who couldn't pick you out of a lineup next to Santa and his eight reindeers if his life depended on it. And honestly, this case has been nothing but a headache. And I am six months away from retirement, so this…this situation isn't helping…"

Lowering his gun even more, much to his Inspectors concern, Mike moaned theatrically when he saw McAllister relax a little.

"But unfortunately, if you walk out of this room with her, we can nail you on attempted kidnapping. And that's a felony. And with three cops present, even your attorneys can't fight that. Now, I've come to this place since I was a kid. I love the Cow Palace and the atmosphere of the bulls and horses. It's an important part of The City, it brings in money to pay for our salaries and quite honestly…you've done a great job running it and getting it to where it's at today. We all want you to keep this place here going, for our kids and grandkids. So how about you let her go, and we'll worry about the petty charges later? Close this case and move on? I don't know about you, but I am sick of it."

Not entirely convinced, McAllister grunted in nervousness, the gun in his hand shaking slightly. Swallowing hard, he pointed his chin at Haley to his left.

"You're putting me on, aren't you?"

"I wish…", Mike said and helped himself to a mint out of the candy jar ahead, skillfully disguising his shaking hands, "You see, I've been a cop for nearly thirty years, right? And I am getting tired of the politics. Dealing with the press, justifying every step I take in front of my Captain. Three years ago they stuck me with this rookie cop, a young kid, like I am supposed to babysit him. Probably punishment for criticizing the Captain a year earlier. Now all that's left of the old-timers in Homicide is the three of us. And we're all getting pretty sick and tired of the way things are developing around here. Right guys?"

Haley nodded hesitantly, while Hassejian swallowed his confusion with a fake grunt of approval.

"So, in a nutshell, you could do all of us…and yourself…a huge favor in letting her go and allowing us to bring you downtown for questioning. We'll even give you some extra time to call up your lawyers, get prepared, have a cup of coffee. It would really make my day if we can get this high profile murder case off my desk. And unfortunately…right now, until you can get some of our evidence thrown out, you do look like a suspect to the DA's office and we have to bring you in, no choice. So how about we get this mess cleaned up, and you move on with your life, we move on with ours."

"What's in it for me? I mean, you got two of your guard dogs pinning me down. That's not really giving me confidence. I feel threatened…"

"Oh, don't you worry about them. Lower your weapons, guys…See, you let the girl go, and I will have them leave this room, so that there's just the two of us. Why ruin your good reputation over some rodeo girl, anyway, eh? We can stay up here and talk some more if you like. I will even escort you down to the police car myself, because, as you know, we do need to follow proper procedure."

Feeling his gut twist as this game continued on, Mike put his gun back into his holster, hoping that it would prove to be enough of an assurance to their suspect. In the back, he could hear the wailing of an approaching ambulance entering the Cow Palace's parking lot, as the tense situation surrounding their case unfolded up above.

Putting on his most casual façade in a situation that pushed for anything but, Mike sighed imperceptibly, giving his detectives assurance that things were still going according to his plan, albeit at a slightly different angle.

The dangerous man ahead paused for several long moments, seemingly weighing his options. The well-timed arrival of more police cars down below seemed to finally sway him to make the right decision, as he pushed Jordan off to his left, the girl nearly falling to the ground if it hadn't been for the file cabinet against the east wall. Symbolically putting his gun to the floor and kicking it aside, he raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay. Here you go. You can arrest me and I am not putting up a fight. I am very cooperative. Obviously I have a business to lead and nothing to hide. And I need to get this situation resolved so we can all move on. But you better hope I don't get any bruises from rough treatment."

Motioning for Haley and Hassejian to grab Jordan and leave the premise, Mike waited until the room was cleared, before facing McAllister again.

"Don't you worry; I will be as gentle as possible. Remember, this is just standard procedure."

With the office empty except for the two men, McAllister's brown eyes meeting Mike's seemed even colder, as the slightly taller man cleared his throat.

"You eh…you're one of those dirty cops? I mean…you and I could maybe work something out, you know. Make a deal? Protection and such? Keep you on the job a bit longer for the right price?"

Smiling, Mike reached for the handcuffs in the back of his belt, before approaching his suspect.

As he stepped behind the man, making sure to put the cuffs on extra tight, followed by a hiss of pain, the Lieutenant growled in disgust of what the other man had proposed.

"I don't make deals with killers, Mister McAllister."

Enjoying the confusion on his suspect's face, he shoved McAllister chest first onto the large wooden desk, hesitating briefly when the adrenaline rushing through his system caused him to shiver.

"That's what the DA's office is for. I just arrest people. But here, let me show you some paperwork we brought along."

Reaching for the breast pocket of his black overcoat, Mike resurfaced the two warrants and put the pink paperwork in front of McAllister's face.

"One is a search warrant for your place, and one is an arrest warrant. So, before we cover all the actual evidence we have gathered that ties you directly to two murders, and…as it appears now, the attempted murder of two others, one of them a police officer, let me read you your rights…"