Jay felt a mixture of emotions when he parked his car outside of Erin's house. They had been on a thoroughly enjoyable date, first for a meal at an Italian restaurant on the recommendation of Deonna Purrazzo, then to a theatre, where they had watched a new blockbuster action movie. The only downside was that Erin would be spending the night at home instead of at his place.

"Thank you for a lovely night, Jay. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

"You sure I can't tempt you back to my place, to finish it the right way?"

"I'm already tempted, but you know I can't. I've got to be up early to get to that conference for sergeants first thing. And I've got to pick Trudy Platt up on the way."

"Wearing your uniform twice in two days. You should make a habit of it, Sergeant Lindsay," Jay said. Leaning over, he started to kiss her.

"Mmm," Erin purred into his mouth. After thirty seconds or so, she pulled away. "Hold this thought until tomorrow. We'll go straight to your place after work and have as much sex as we can manage."

"Are we going to find time for dinner?" he asked with a small grin on his face.

"I hope not."

Jay went in for another kiss, but Erin stopped him by putting a finger to his lips. "No more, mister. You'll have to wait."

"But I don't want to wait," he breathed.

Erin leaned in and whispered into his ear. "I know. That's why I'm making you." With that, she scooted out of the car, giggling on the way.

Frustrated as he was not to get the sex he craved, Jay was still happy to hear her laughing. They really were in a good place now, in the early stages of their second shot at a relationship.

"Sleep well, Jay," Erin said, standing with the door open.

"You too. See you tomorrow afternoon. Goodnight." At this point it felt a little odd not to say that he loved her, but they hadn't quite crossed that bridge yet.

Erin closed the door and stood there for a few seconds, watching him pull away. Then she turned and walked towards her front door, mentally bemoaning the conference she had to attend the next day. It would be her first such event, and she imagined it was going to be tedious in the extreme, wasting time that could be better used actually policing.

"Need to get on with finding somewhere better than this as well," she grumbled to herself as she unlocked the front door to her rented house and walked in.

She put her clutch and keys down on a small table in the hallway, and went through to the living room.

Erin turned the lights on, and her breath caught in her throat. Raquel Gonzalez was sitting on the single chair that was near the couch, facing the door. There was a pistol in her hand.

"Hello, Sophia. Or should I say Sergeant Erin Lindsay. Make your gun safe and toss it into the corner of the room."

Lindsay took a deep breath, feeling her heart starting to pound. Her body was telling her to run from danger, but that wasn't an option, not without catching a bullet in the back. She was in very hot water, her mind frantically trying to come up with a way to get out of it. She started by raising her hands a bit to make sure they looked non-threatening. "I don't have my gun. It's in my clutch, which I just put on the table out there in the hallway. My phone is in it too before you ask."

Gonzalez seemed to accept that. "Come over here slowly, hands where I can see them, and sit on the couch. You can leave the light on. Try anything, I will kill you."

"Is killing a police officer really what you want to do, Raquel?" Lindsay asked as she obeyed the instructions.

"If I wanted to kill you, I'd have been outside, and I'd have put a bullet in the back of your head while you were unlocking the door. You'd have never known I was there. Keep your hands on your lap. Move, I shoot you."

Now sitting, Lindsay tried her best to make herself stay calm. It was her best chance to get out of whatever this encounter was going to be alive. "So you don't want to kill me. What do you want? Where's Martinez?

"This place is a bit of a shit hole isn't it? You can't afford better on a sergeant's wage?"

Lindsay had no patience for being taunted as well as held at gun point. "I said where's Martinez?"

"Never mind where Ms Martinez is. What matters is the message I bring from her."

"A message, huh? Is this where you shoot me in the head? If so, get on with it. You'll be disappointed if you want to hear me beg."

Gonzalez grunted a laugh. "You know, despite everything, I respect you. You've got a lot of guts. I knew you were a cop, though. I fucking knew it."

Lindsay returned the laugh in kind. "Of course you did. What's this message?"

What Gonzalez had to say clearly troubled her, but her steely gaze never left Lindsay. The woman knew what she was doing. No silly mistakes were going to be made, allowing Lindsay to attack.

"After we escaped the raid on that warehouse... how did your people let that happen by the way?"

"Rookie error, literally," Lindsay said frankly.

"Ah. Lucky for us. Unlucky for you."

"According to the reports I got, you got shot in the arm. Maybe not so lucky after all?"

"Depends how you look at it. Getting a bullet graze on the arm is better than taking one to the head."

"Well, that's true," Lindsay said, playing things as cool as she could. "So, this message? Honestly, I'd have thought you'd have been in Mexico by now, not in Chicago delivering messages."

"Yes, that was the plan. But there are other situations in play. To avoid talking about things that are not your business, I'll simply say that Ms Martinez was left with certain debts that she was repaying. Thanks to you, she's now not in a position to continue. She feels that if she goes across the border, we're more likely to be met with a firing squad than a warm welcome."

Lindsay narrowed her eyes. Things were getting interesting, and it looked like she would be staying alive after all. If Martinez was already in the shit, there was only one reason to send Gonzalez as a messenger – to seek help. "I'm listening," she said.

"Ms Martinez wants to make a deal."

"Like I said, I'm listening."

Gonzalez shifted position, sitting forward now that the heart of the matter was at hand. The gun was still ready to be used, even if it likely wouldn't be. "In exchange for immunity, protection, a new identity, a nice place to live, and a sizeable financial payment, Ms Martinez is willing hand herself in and turn state's evidence. The same conditions and benefits will also apply to me, and Manu Diaz, another of Ms Martinez's inner circle who managed to escape."

"That's a lot of demands," Lindsay said calmly, not allowing herself to react to the big deal that was being offered to her. Bringing Martinez in would no doubt be a great accomplishment for her career.

"They're fair demands. Ms Martinez can give you detailed information on a lot of people, both sides of the border. You'd have to be stupid not to want what's in her head, and much as I don't like you, Lindsay, I know you're not stupid."

Lindsay realised the authority in the conversation was starting to transfer to her. She decided to take advantage. "Since it sounds like you're not going to shoot me, and I've got no way of shooting you, why don't you put the gun away, and we can talk about what you've said like a couple of reasonable adults."

Gonzalez eyed her carefully for a second before making the gun safe and putting it in her jacket pocket. "You try anything, I won't need that thing to kill you. I didn't come here to get arrested."

"If it helps, no one cares about you, Raquel. Martinez is the one we want. The idea you, or rather she, is talking about is interesting. The problem is it's way above my rank to make a decision like that. If I told you I could accept it right here and now I would be lying to you, and I think you know that."

"Ms Martinez did expect that. You will have to speak to a superior. So, here's how it's going to go down. You're going to get the deal approved, and come up with cast iron guarantees of everything in writing. You have twenty four hours from 8am tomorrow. I will contact you and confirm everything is agreed. If it is, I will come to the police station and meet with you, where I will read the written guarantees to make sure they are legit. If they are, I'll call Ms Martinez and Manu Diaz, and they will come in. Remember, you want all the info in her head, the only way you get it is to play this fairly. Screw us over, you get nothing."

"We're often happy to deal with people who offer up people further up the food chain," Lindsay said. "I can't guarantee Superintendent Kelton will go for it. But my recommendation will be that he should. You should also know that Martinez will not end up dealing with me or my officers. It'll probably be passed to the FBI."

"I'll pass that on," Gonzalez said. Wasting no further time, she got up. "Don't try to follow me. I'll contact you."

"You're very loyal, Raquel."

"Are your team not loyal to you? We're just on different sides of the law. Sit there until I'm out of the house."

With that, Gonzalez walked quickly out of the room. Seconds later, the front door banged shut. Lindsay took a deep breath, feeling relief hit her. She was angry at herself for leaving her gun in her clutch, and her clutch in the hallway. If Gonzalez had been there to kill her, she would have succeeded.

But Gonzalez hadn't been there to kill her. She had been there to offer a good deal for both parties. Lindsay knew it was just what she needed to get back on Kelton's good side.

Thinking that something strong to drink seemed like a good idea, she first went out to the hallway and retrieved her gun and phone from her clutch. She made a call on her way into the kitchen. It was answered after only a couple of rings.

"Er, you okay?"

"Yes, Jay, I'm fine. You won't believe what's just happened."

A/N: An unexpected visit for Erin to say the least. But from it, she may be able to take credit for Martinez coming in and going into witness protection. Will Kelton go for it?