"OK, guys, something new and improved for you.."

Van & Deaq pause out on the court, (Van just about to let fly the winning free throw from the line to deliver the Lakers to the championship in triple OT!!!!)

"You'd have missed that anyway, G, I win again!"

"Not a chance Deaq, that would have been nothin but net!"

"Yeah, sure, my mama shoots better free throws than your skinny ass, even in her Sunday hat! You always choke when you're about to lose anyway."

"No way!" Van protested.

"H-O-R-S-E that spells hors-ey, y'know, like white-y. Hahahaha!"

"HEY!!" shouted Billie in the mom-voice. "Would Mr & Mrs Bickerson care to come on over here & work a little?"

##

"Yeah, we're just starting, so just come right on in.." Dropping a stack of files on the table, Billie hangs up the phone, then starts:

"The play is Reginald a.k.a. 'Birthday' Morris -"

"Whoa, hold it, cut," interjects Van, "Morris is strictly San Francisco & Vegas, we got no WAY tryin to make a play that big, Billie; it's suicidal..."

"I don't think my man Horsey is feeling too confident," Deaq interrupts Van's interruption (who is making very sure to take no notice of Deaq's namecalling), "perhaps you can elaborate, so he's-"

"Geez, wouldya shut up a minute so I can finish a sentence... no more Red Bull the rest of the day Van..."

Van's face implies "As if.."

"so as I was saying, since up until recently Morris was concentrated in the Bay Area & Las Vegas, we've got someone coming to help out on this one," Billie leans over to push a button, and the freight door on the Candy Store slowly creaks open.

Deaq & Van begin to wriggle like children looking at the largest place of boiled spinach ever placed in front of a kid...

"Aw Boss, not Junior again? My arm's still aching from the last time he was here, I think just me talking about him is making my arm throb.. Get my back, Deaq.."

"True, true boss," Deaq continues the thought, "I think he's even got a doctor's note, don't ya man.."

"Sure do..." Van picks up and he & Deaq are soon yammering at Billie in unison, "I got it, uh, hmm, I had it in my pocket for emergencies, but it must be, uh, in the car, yeah, in the glove box..."

"...says something like, " 'please excuse Officer Van Ray from working with sons of deputy police chiefs because it could seriously endanger his health. Signed Van's doctor..' "

Billie just stands & rolls her eyes as Deaq & Van riff on...

The sound of a decelerating motorcycle approaches, causing Deaq & Van to stop in the middle of their riff, which is music to Billie's ears, as she drops a pen down to the table & begins to cross around it

"As I was saying, we've got a Detective on loan from SFPD for this one, a real bright spark, who's dialed in to this case, so be on your Sunday behavior, boys..."

A silver Ducati rolls into the Candy Store & stops. It has a pack mounted atop the tank and saddlebags across the back, and rider in helmet-to-toe black riding leather. Rider, bags and bike are coated in several layers of road grime and mud. The rider turns off the motor, engages the stand, and dismounts.

Deaq's & Van's eyes grow wide at the prospect of the new toy & new kid to play with, and they rise to follow Billie out onto the floor, picking up a new riff...

"Oooooooh, ok, so Boss, forget all that note stuff, I like this new guy already, I feel fine, so send me in coach,"

"I dunno Van, that looks like more dirt than your pretty-boy face can carry off... that's for the varsity squad.." Deaq pushes Van aside to step forward.

The rider unstraps the helmet and un-Velcros the heavy gloves.

"Guys!" Billie's voice rises over the guys' conversation, "I want you to meet Mel..."

The rider's helmet comes off in a flash of pinks and reds.

"Detective Melanie Jackson of the San Francisco PD."

The "new guy" was a woman with auburn & pink hair, pale skin offset by bright green eyes and blood red fingernails.

Billie could have heard a pin drop in the room, as her two hot shots were actually speechless, jaws slapping the floor. Together, they could only muster one thought between them,

"WHOA."

##

"Hey, girl, good to see ya. Have a good ride down?" Billie greets Mel as she removs the top pack from her bike. Mel unsnaps the collar of her jacket, and unzips the front, stopping to embrace Billie when she approaches. Billie picks up the pack with one hand, and wraps the other through her friend's arm and guids her into the Candy Store, "I'm so glad we get to work together again, especially on this one..." her voice trailing off into the depths of the team's lair, as Deaq & Van stand nailed to the floor, doing nothing but breathing air.

Both men turn to wrap their minds around the development:

"Um, Deaq, that's a girl cop Billie brought in to help US??.."

"Yeah... yeah, G, a girl cop in leather to help us..."

"So, ok, I'm fully aware that's a fine lookin' girl in leather over there with Billie's arm around her... um… uh, yeah," he loses focus as the little boy inside them both starts doing hormonal cartwheels, "but we gotta remember turf here, y'see?"

"Yeah... right, I'm with ya.. so what you're sayin' is we gotta keep our heads about us in regards to this 'bright spark' (Deaq makes quote signs in the air) detective who's going to help us do our job.."

"Right.."

"The one of her police smarts to the 1, 2 of us & our police smarts,"

"Right.."

"Doesn't matter who she is, she's on OUR turf..."

"Right.."

"There's a code you gotta go by here,"

"Damn right, Deaq, a code, like, y'know, rules.."

"We gotta make sure she can keep up with our game, cuz if she wrecks our play, she gets to saddle up & go on home & leave us like fools here to pick up the pieces..."

"Right..."

"No matter that we're both just standing here like a pair of sad 7th graders wondering what she's got on under that leather, enjoying every little creak from every move she makes," Deaq caresses the air as though he were touching that leather. Then suddenly, well aware of their primitive behavior thus far, he turns to his partner and just stares, waiting for Van to rejoin him the the real world...

"Right...," Van, defeated and humbled, wanders behind his partner to the table.

Meanwhile, Billie, having shown Mel where to clean up from her ride, opened the pack on the table, revealing stacks of files, photos, and unsealed evidence bags.

"Wow," Deaq marvelled, "look at us, going to save the galaxy...!"

The three cops unpacked the files, and began to organize, stack and straighten in preparation of a deep wade through the case.