Welcome back for some undercover fun :) Feel free to point out if something feels off.
Walking out into the lobby Sam has to force his feet to continue moving and take a mental effort not to let his eyes linger on Jules too much. Both women looked stunning in his eyes. Jules had chosen a dress in a deep teal color that just worked to make her hair and eyes shine. Sam at that moment, wants nothing more than to wrap her up in his arms, but he knows he can't.
Inward he laments one more time, that Jules put an end to them instead of actually talking about the possible solutions they had. He swallows and plasters an appreciative grin on his face.
Chris looks stunning too in a short, very short, black dress with lace detailing on the upper chest and around her hip. He slides an arm around her and feels her shoulders stiffen.
"Everything okay?" he asks worried but Chris waves him off. "Yeah, just wasn't prepared I guess…"
Sam can feel the probing glances of every other officer in the room and decides to take a moment alone with her.
Without a second thought, he pulls Chris with him by her hand. "We're gonna grab the car and head out," he tells the others. With every step they take away from the group and closer to the parking lot, Sam can feel Chris relax her hand a bit more.
"I am sorry," he mumbles before pointing the key to find the car they'd be using today, "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable in there, but we kinda do need to be convincing."
Chris nods silently and drops into the passenger seat. "I know, just like I said, wasn't prepared. I am good now," her jaw set a bit harshly and Sam can tell that not everything is okay.
Suddenly his earlier conversation pops back into his mind. He frowns while starting the engine.
"I have one more thing to tell you, and then we can talk about your limits and get to know each other just a bit better to build more trust, okay?" he glances sideways for a second and Chris nods with a raised eyebrow.
"When they called earlier, I was working out with Street," he begins with a light laugh remembering the angry swipes the man had put into the bag, "He has a mean left hook! But anyways, I was panting a bit and as it was early in the morning, I told them I had been working out with," he stops and Chris groans already. "Me."
"Yeah, sorry."
"Don't be," Chris frowns but still waves him off. "It's an effective strategy."
For the next few blocks, they ride in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, Sam can see Chris fiddling with her purse. And so, he reaches over. "Don't be nervous. Ask me anything you wanna know to build trust," he offers and hopes to open the conversation a bit. Instead, Chris at his side stays silent and chews on her lower lip. A stark contrast to the person he had been laughing and dancing with last night.
At a red light he reaches over to touch her arm and Chris jumps a bit.
"I get it, this is less than ideal. But we have to trust each other. And if you don't want my arm around you, because you feel bad for cheating on someone back home…" he slowly asks and checks her reaction. Seeing Chris frown confirms it for him.
"It's not that. There is no one back home," Chris tells him and shakes loose a bit. "Just something that feels off to me and I can't put my finger on it yet."
"Okay, then what do you want to know?" Sam takes great care that his voice is light, and he sends her an encouraging smile. When Sam turns back to the road the radio turns on and displays the word 'Transcript'.
"Thanks, Spike," Sam calls out and can see Chris frown again. "Ah, before we get into it, our missions all get auto transcribed and the Lipstick bug in your purse is live to document all of this. Just in case they call already. Spike just reminded us with this," he gestures to the display.
"Seriously?" Chris raises an eyebrow, "So they've already been listening in on us?"
"Don't worry, no one but the team has heard any of our exchange. And the transcripts are not public record. They are just used for internal reviews and stuff." Sam tries to reassure the woman at his side but she is becoming more subdued again.
"Okay, we're nearly there. Do you wanna play mad at me? Or madly in love?" he jokes and actually elicits a laugh. "Maybe something in between," she jokes back. Her smile feels forced.
Minutes later Sam pulls up at the VIP entrance to the restaurant and like the perfect gentleman helps Chris out of the car. He is slightly surprised when she walks close and loops her arm across his hip and grabs a hold of one of the belt loops. "Game time," he whispers into her ear.
One of the hostesses leads them straight up into the designated VIP area, so they don't really know if Jules and Street are already downstairs. It was too dangerous for them to carry earpieces, but he knew that Street had gotten one, so Sam assumed Jules had too.
"I see you have a type," Sergio himself greeted them and Sam has to refrain from rolling his eyes when the guy lifts Chris's hand up for a kiss. "Impresionante," he continues and eyes her up and down. Sam feels the urge to pull her back and closer to himself.
Just as he does so, Sergio chuckle, "You are possessive. Be careful that the beauty doesn't realize life's better with Latin blood and fire."
To Sam's relief, Chris just places herself right across his lap and starts playing with his lapel. He can guess the side eye she is throwing at Sergio and his men.
"Okay, you called and wanted me here," Sam tries to steer the conversation back to business and the case at hand.
"No need to get testy," Sergio leans back and smirks at them. "We can get the lady a nice meal and talk shop when the music starts."
Sam had expected as much. Even in the pretend privacy of the VIP section Sergio was careful. In his warehouses music was blasting at full tilt all the time, to prevent audio observation from the outside.
"Shall we?" the gangster motions for them to join him at a table in the back. "Sophia is on her way in too, so the women can talk amongst each other."
Sam nods and caresses Chris's shoulder a bit when he feels her stiffen up at the mention of Sophia. Yeah, that wasn't in the plan, and they couldn't be sure if Street and Jules were inside yet. Or if they were somewhere that Sophia could spot them easily.
He curses his inability to communicate with the rest of the team. But Chris apparently had found a way. She is leaning against the railing of the balcony and letting her gaze wander.
"I'd like to go dancing after lunch when the music starts," she murmurs against his neck, loud enough for everyone to understand. But Sam understood. The other two are downstairs. And this might be their only chance to communicate.
Okay, so the plan is to rotate through these four perspectives, and therefore next up is Chris again. I hope that leads to more of a balance in worlds and more character insight.