In an Apartment near the center of Brooklyn, a young woman tossed and turned in her bed in the dead of night. The woman was mumbling under her breath as her face scrunched up in pain. Images ran through her mind of the moment she desperately fought for her life against a group of inmates with a hatred of cops. Before the final blow could be delivered, Rosa's eyes sprung open.
Her hand reached for the knife hidden under her pillow, swinging at the invisible threat. Rosa's eyes darted around the room, scanning for anything out of place. As soon as she knew she was safe, she dropped the knife next to her on the mattress. Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to control her breathing, but she found that difficult to do as her mind continued to replay the images. The Latina woman was drenched in sweat, running a trembling hand in her damp hair. The detective fell back on the bed.
It was only a few days ago since Rosa had left prison, but ever since she got home, back to her apartment, she felt like she didn't belong; everything felt foreign to her. Diaz couldn't get away from the feeling of being trapped. Even in the quietness of her apartment, it reminded her of being in solitary. That's when her mind would play the worst memories. She wasn't joking when she told the Sargent and the captain, "nobody likes cops in here."
Rosa thought everything would go back to normal once she was found innocent and freed for a crime she did not commit. But it was the exact opposite, and she had never felt so alone in her life. Adrian had still not returned, and she couldn't be sure if he knew that she had been freed. However, the Latina woman wasn't concerned. After all, she knew this wouldn't last forever. She was strong enough to get over this by herself.
Two months later
It was 0855 on a Monday morning at the precinct; people were coming off the elevator and entering the bull pit to set up for the day ahead. Rosa Diaz was already sitting at her desk typing a report on a purp she had caught just the day before. It was supposed to be her weekend off. However, since she left prison, the woman had been taking any offers of overtime she could get. This sometimes left the Latina detective exhausted; there were a few occasions where she dozed off at her desk.
"Early Start?" Rosa tore her eyes away from the computer. Looking up, her eyes met Boyle's staring down at her.
"Yep, caught this guy trying to break into a car a block away from my apartment, on my way to work yesterday." Diaz said a matter of factly, her eyes returned to her screen. Charles's eyebrows frowned at the woman.
"Weren't you meant to be off this weekend?" The man questioned Rosa, who rolled her eyes at him. The female detective knew working overtime again would lead to a bombarding of questions from her colleagues about why she was taking on so much extra work.
"I took overtime. What does it matter to you?" Rosa snapped at Charles, who stepped back from the woman. Noticing the man flinching under her glare. She let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I've been taking over time because I need the money to replace all the stuff I gave away when I went to prison." Rosa looked away when Charles's expression changed from shock into sympathy. Rosa hated whenever someone took pity on her; it was the main reason she didn't tell anyone why she was taking on so much overtime. The detective didn't want people to know why she didn't want to be alone with her thoughts or the memories the plagued her.
"Rosa." Charles pulled over a chair, sitting down next to her. "If you need money, you just need to ask. in fact, Genevieve and I are getting some new furniture if you want any of our old stuff." The man suggested, trying to be helpful to his friend, but this generous offer was rewarded with a look of disgust.
"Drop it, Boyle. I don't need your second-hand crap." The Latino woman stood up from her seat, causing the chair to scrape the floor. Picking up a file, Rosa stormed off, leaving Charles confused at the explosive reaction of his friend. At that moment, Jake and Amy had just entered the bullpen, spotting Diaz storming off.
"What's wrong with Rosa?" Amy questioned Boyle, pointing in the direction the detective had gone in.
"Yeah, what did you do? It's not even 0900, and you've managed to piss off Diaz. That must be a record." Jake didn't hide the smile plastered on his face. Peralta took enjoyment in the idea he wasn't the one who had aggravated the feared detective. However, that joy was short-lived when Amy elbowed him in the stomach.
"Nothing." Charles looked perplexed at the two, who gave him a skeptical look. " Honestly, I just asked her about her weekend. The subject of the amount of overtime she has been doing came up. So I asked if she needed any old furniture or to borrow money. I would be happy to help. After all, she did give away half of her apartment." Both Santiago and Peralta cringed when they heard Charles's offer. "What? I was just trying to help."
"All of the years you've worked with Rosa, how many times has she accepted handouts?" Amy stated the obvious. "I can't even get her to let me check her injuries whenever she gets hurt during a case."
"I know, but I feel bad that she's doing all this extra work just to build her life back up." Boyle defended his actions.
"What are you talking about? Rosa managed to get almost all of her stuff back the week she came out of prison." Gina, who had been listening in on the conversation, walked over to join the group with a coffee in her hand. "I helped collect a few things from some shady guy that lived close to her apartment." The group gave each other a concerned look before going back to the topic.
"If that's the case, then why is she lying?" Amy asked out loud. The woman was not expecting an answer as her curiosity was beginning to show. "I mean, she could end up burning herself out. Maybe we should just confront her on the lie."
Each member of the group locked eyes with each other while Amy was lost in thought. "Not it." Everyone but Amy said in sync.
"Wait, what?" The Latino woman's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. before finally realizing what had happened. "I didn't mean..." Gina cut the woman off.
"That's kind of you to volunteer," Gina smirked as the group started to dispatch. Amy stood alone, her mouth hung open. A look of dread etched on her face, wishing she had never said a word.
"I want everyone in the briefing room in ten minutes," Terry yelled, knocking Amy back to reality. The woman let out a sigh of relief, knowing that this briefing could buy her time. And hopefully, if she or Rosa were working a case separately from one another, it would be even longer before she was forced to talk with Rosa.
Briefing room
Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords stood at the front of the room, waiting for the detectives to take their seats and settle in for the meeting. Rosa was last to walk in the room, her eyes glaring at Boyle, who shrunk under her gaze. Amy noticed this and felt the dread of the upcoming conversation. Rosa took a seat at the back of the room, placing her feet on the table; she folded her arms as she waited for the briefing to begin.
"The case we have received today will take priority." Captain Holt turned towards the screen on the wall; he pressed the button that pulled up a picture using the remote. The image was of a woman's mug shot, short pink spiky hair, a small scar on her upper lip, her face was thin and showed obvious signs of long-term drug use. "Sergeant Jeffords, could you fill in the squad?" Holt stepped away from the podium, allowing his second in command to take the lead.
"This is Caitlyn Johnson, Also known as CJ on the street. Cj is known to the police for petty crime, possession of narcotics, shoplifting, public intoxication. But recently, she has upgraded to more serious crimes. Our intel shows us that she has started dealing." Before Terry could continue, he was interrupted by Peralta.
"So why's this case taking priority? Seems like a straightforward, open shut case. We could just put Hitchcock and Scully on the case. They couldn't possibly mess up this one."
"You're given those two too much credit." Amy didn't hide her obvious disgust for the senior detectives. It had always baffled the woman how those two men were able to keep their jobs.
"Anyway," Terry spoke up again, wanting to get this briefing over with as soon as possible. "Rumor has it that CJ has become involved with Hector Mendez. These rumors are backed up with eyewitness reports." The screen changed once again to a Hispanic man; the man had long greasy hair, stubble, his eyes were sharp as he glared at the camera. The image caught everybody's attention.
"Hector's a high-profile dealer; why would he be running around with some low-class junkie?" Rosa piped up, her head tilting to the side.
"We don't know. But with CJ's knowledge of the streets and her connections with prostitute rings, it may be another way to get clientele." Terry answered Rosa's question, his jaw tensed, and everybody in the room knew why. This was a big deal if the squad could get a lead on Hector; it would be one step closer to putting one of Brooklyn's biggest dealers away for a long time.
"We have intelligence that Caitlyn will be meeting a buyer; however, we have several locations that this meeting could take place." Holt jumped in, walking to the podium. "We will be splitting up into teams and raiding each location. This will happen tomorrow."
"Peralta and Boyle, you will be the first team. You two will be heading to CJ's home if the deal is canceled. " The two detectives high-fived each other, pleased with the pairing.
"Detective Diaz and Santiago." Amy straightened up at the announcement of her name. "You two will be the next pairing. There is a warehouse downtown that CJ is known to visit." Amy's face fell. This was one of the few times she dreaded being alone with the department's other female detective.
"Jeffords and I will be close by. Our final location is a warehouse a few blocks away from Santiago and Diaz's location. Dismissed." Chairs scraped along the ground as the captain excused the group. "Everybody apart from detective Diaz. Diaz, I want to see you in my office." The Latina woman stopped herself from rolling her eyes, following her captain out the room and into his office. "Shut the door."
The older man took a seat behind his desk, studying the woman who stood in front of him, her hands in her pockets, waiting for him to speak. Holt took note of the bags under the brunette's eyes. "You've been busy lately. Just last week, you managed to get two big arrests." The woman pursed her lips, trying to seem disinterested in what the captain had to say.
"I can't tell if you're congratulating me or if you're about to lecture me for something." Rosa shifted from one foot to the other, folding her arms.
"No, they were good catches. However, my concern is you." Rosa's shoulders tensed. "You seem to be taking on a lot of cases that could be considered dangerous." Holt sat back in his chair, nodding towards the bundle of files sitting on his desk. Roza followed his gaze. "Those files are all your arrest in the last several weeks. Do you know what caught my attention in every file?" Rosa shrugged her shoulders. "90% of your arrest have ended in violence. Can you explain to me why that is, detective?"
"I don't know. I'm just unlucky, I guess." Diaz tried to shrug off the question. But it was true. It was something she couldn't deny herself; she was surprised it took the captain so long to catch on.
"I had doubts about letting you come along on this case," Holt admitted to her.
"What?" Rosa screwed up her face at the revelation. She couldn't decide whether she should be hurt or be angry at the man in front of her. "You said it yourself. I just had two major catches in one week, so where is the logic of keeping me on the sidelines?"
"Yes, you did, and you are a good detective. However, recently, your actions have been erratic and dangerous. I don't want my detectives taking unnecessary risks. If I had someone else I trusted, you would be off the case." The captain sat upright on his chair. "Your dismissed."
"Yes, captain." Diaz clenched her fist until her knuckles turned white, resisting the urge to act out in front of her boss. Taking a breath, she turned to exit the small office.
"Oh, Diaz." Stopping in her tracks, she never bothered to turn towards the man. "I will be keeping an eye on you until further notice." Rosa slowly nodded her head, biting her tongue before storming out of the office.
Don't know if anyone ever reads the Brooklyn nine nine anymore, but if you do, let me know what you think. The next chapter will be up soon.