Chapter 3

My eyes go wide. "Meliodas?" I slam my hands on the table as I stand up abruptly. "As in leader of the Seven Deadly Sins, Meliodas?"

"That's me," the blonde replies, voice light and cheery.

"That's a notorious gang! If you're lying to me, I can have you thrown away for-"

"Interfering with an investigation. It's a felony, yeah, yeah," he interrupts me and rolls his eyes. That damn smile still in place. The cocky bastard. "I'm not lying. My name is Meliodas."

Before I can continue, another tap comes across the glass. I don't hide my frown at being interrupted again. The blonde in front of me, Meliodas, merely smiles. I pick up the toppled chair and try to calm the sudden racing of my heart.

I can't believe this is the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins. This could break the case wide open!

Another, impatient tap.

I shake my head at them. Probably Veronica, I fight back rolling my eyes. I turn to Meliodas. "I'll be right back."

His emerald eyes search my face and he smiles, "Hope so Elizabeth."

My heart lurches in my chest at the sudden use of my name. I forgot that I had given it to him in all the excitement of figuring out who he was. Instead of replying, I simply nod and walk out of the room in better spirits than when I first went in. I barely open the door to the observation room when Veronica is hounding me.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

My brows furrow, "No, I'm trying to solve a case."

"With him?" Her hands fidget uncontrollably at her side, probably resisting the urge to slap some sense into me. "Do you know who he is? I know you just put your career on the line Ellie, but this isn't the way." Her voice softens in an unusual display of affection from her.

My older sister.

I wasn't the only one who wanted to follow in Father's footsteps. While Veronica and I took the more direct path, our eldest sister, Margaret, took a different approach. She was the Assistant District Attorney for our precinct. A path Father would have preferred we all took, but especially me, the youngest. According to him, I just didn't have the same fire and street smarts as Veronica - something I've always resented her for.

This case was going to help me prove him wrong.

"Yes, Veronica, I know who he is," I reply patiently. "I told you I had a feeling he was involved with this."

I just didn't realize how right I was.

The Seven Deadly Sins. A highly skilled, highly lethal group of thugs. It's not really clear when the gang was formed - even our city's organized crime unit has had little to no progress in tracking them down or gathering intel. Everything we knew came directly from the source - that is, whenever we came across their calling cards at crime scenes. There was no telling just how long their rap sheet really was, but so far; murder, attempted murder, grand larceny, grand theft, arson, and drug trafficking were rumored to be at the top of a very long list. Despite that, the only thing they ever left behind was a simple note with a picture of a dragon eating its tail. There was no actual evidence tying any of their members to any of the crimes they claimed to be responsible for.

There was only one member we had a vague idea of appearence on, and that wasn't the one sitting in the interrogation room.

While we did have a poster that somewhat resembled the blonde, it was in no way tied to the Seven Deadly Sins. The crime on that poster was from a few years ago. We were able to get the description from one of the officers who ended up in critical condition after a vicious run in with him. That misrepresentation of a sketch was all we ever got out of them. No name. Nothing.

We only knew Meliodas as leader of the Sins by word-of-mouth on the street.

The one member we were sure of, was named Ban.

It happened by mere chance. After investigating a random burglary, a child admitted to seeing the culprit. Apparently Ban had told the kid who he was and claimed to be second in command of the notorious gang. That was a year ago. His poster was still hanging on the board - how could we be sure that his picture wasn't wrong too?

My eyes drift over to the blonde in the interrogation room. Even after telling me his name, he's still so at ease. And why wouldn't he be? We couldn't confirm he was who he said he was, and there was no proof to connect him to anything!

That's why he was so damn confident earlier! I realize with a start. He and his band of… god, could there really only be seven of them in total?! It didn't matter. Seven, twenty, they were all untouchable.

"If he's telling the truth, then this may be our chance to not only dismantle the city's biggest drug cartel, but also it's worst crime syndicate!" I explain to my team. With the Seven Deadly Sins involved, this case just became ten times more dangerous - if that was even possible. I couldn't let an opportunity like this pass us by, despite Veronica's obvious disdain for it.

"He's got to realize that by helping us, he's only opening himself up to being caught. What makes you think he'll cooperate?" Howzer comments. And he has a point.

"I have to make him trust me. Make him think I won't turn them in when all is said and done."

Veronica groaned and I could see the disgust on her face in her muted reflection, "Right. Elle the tell-all is going to convince a crime boss that she isn't all about the law. You couldn't even fake a smile at the club last night. You're not suited for this."

The directness and complete lack of support had me baffled. I turned to watch her cross her arms, "I was the one to convince Dad to let you on the force. I can convince him that you weren't serious about this whole mess. You can keep your job, alright?"

"To what end?!" I yell back, feeling my control slipping from me once more with each passing word, "You do that and he'll throw me back to desk duty for sure - or worse!"

She shrugs, unfazed by my anger, "And maybe that's where you belong, Ellie. Trust me, you just don't have-"

Something inside me snapped. My own flesh-and-blood didn't even have my back… But that didn't mean I had to stand here and take her abuse. "THIS is MY case." I roar over her, effectively silencing her, "I am the lead on this investigation. The chief has already given me permission to do as I see fit on it. If you don't like that, you can transfer to another task force."

There was a long silence between the two of us, the tension palpable, until Veronica scoffed and left the room.

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think El?" Howzer comments with an audible sigh. "She's just trying to help."

"Well I don't need her help," I snap at him. Not this time. In truth, Veronica has been helping me out for far too long and while I appreciate her sisterly need to look out for me, I'm more than frustrated by it. Her words about getting me on the force stung.

Finally he takes his eyes off the glass. That normally easy going smile is set into a tight line. "You can't do this alone."

I mull over the statement. "I don't want to. But I will if I have to."

He sighs heavily, his shoulders slumping back into that relaxed posture I know so well. "You know I got your back, El," he smiles. "Besides, you'd be totally lost without my help!"

I laugh lightly and offer him my thanks. "Of course, Howzer, thank you."

Howzer and I have been friends for as long as I can remember. If it hadn't been for him I may not have even made it through school. His positive attitude was sometimes the only thing that kept me going when I felt like breaking down. He has always had my back. It was by mere chance that we ended up in the same precinct. Or maybe my father's interference, I never asked. If he did pull some strings to get Howzer here, I, for once, wasn't going to complain about it.

"So what's your plan here?" The blonde redirects his attention back to the room.

I'm thinking on that very question when I notice the stack of open, fanned out files sitting on the table sitting between us and the glass. In all the back-and-forth with Veronica, I hadn't even realized Howzer had brought the case files in with him - but retrospect tells me this isn't exactly a new habit. He once told me that bringing the files in the observation room, helped him think of the victims. Of why it was so important we close each case as fast as we could.

The first one is open to a police report with pictures clipped to the folder. One of the newest crime scenes we'd come across in connection with the drugs and gang we were trying to dismantle. The kid had been fifteen. His body had gone three days subjected to the elements before it had been found. The pictures were enough to make me rethink wanting to get breakfast when all of this was said and done.

I remember the anguish in his mother's face and wails when we had informed her of his death. And he wasn't the only one. There were no fewer than twelve other confirmed deaths attributed to this damn drug - another six unconfirmed. Our contacts in the field said that dealers were calling it XGEN; meaning new generation. A drug that was supposed to make you faster, stronger, smarter… all it was really doing was killing people.

But apparently client death isn't nearly as bad for business as it should have been as XGEN continued to flood the streets. People keep dying… mother's keep wailing for the loss of loved ones...

I step up to my longtime partner, taking a long moment to remind myself why this is so important. It wasn't just about my career… it was about the victims and their families looking for closure. With that in mind, I feel my resolve solidify and my eyes lock on the man named Meliodas in the room beyond the glass. "Let's hear what he has to say first. Then we can go from there."

"Don't agree with anything, right away," he advises. "We don't need him to think he holds all the cards."

"Even if he does?" I deadpan rhetorically, giving Howzer a sidelong grin for pointing out the obvious. The banter with him is always calming. Reminding me to enjoy the small doses of laughter when I can because God knows in this line of work, it's easy to forget about the bright side.

He laughs, a smile on his face. "Well he doesn't need to know that!"

I push his shoulder lightly. "I'll be sure to not let him know." I move towards the door.

"I'll be right here."

"I know you will." I give him an appreciative smile before adding, "Otherwise you'd be doing paperwork."

"Ugh," he groans, "Don't remind me. I have a huge stack waiting on my desk. I hate paperwork."

I leave the room and head back towards Meliodas. A hundred thousand possible scenarios playing in my head, and I come up with answers for all of them.

However, the moment I open the interrogation room door, Meliodas' bright smile is on me again, as if to say 'welcome back' and despite the advice of my friend and partner still watching on the other side of the mirror, my next words flew right from my mouth without a second thought.

"So, about those other conditions?" I asked, my own grin spreading, feeling a flare of rebelliousness igniting my blood.

I could practically feel the facepalm Howzer was doing on the other side.

A/N:

Dom: Hey Luv! Let's play good cop, bad cop! I'll be the bad cop!

Luv: … I think it's pretty obvious who would be who here…

Dom: Oh you really think so punk?! TELL ME WHAT YOU'RE HIDING!

Luv: If I tell you… you promise to put the whips away? You're scaring the readers… and me...

Dom: THE READERS CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Luv: ...Anyways… Next time on Don't Trust Me! Elizabeth makes a daring move to crack her case! But meetings in abandoned districts usually only lead to one thing. In the next chapter, sketchy vans and blindfolds! Will Elizabeth be able to handle Meliodas' conditions? And who the hell smells like booze so early in the day?

Luv: *whispers* I told you to leave the whips at home this time. It's too early in the story for that.

Dom: YOU'RE UNDER ARREST!

Luv: ... And that's all we have time for today… See ya next chapter!