Law & Order Criminal Intent

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I OWN nothing & CLAIM nothing!

Summery: This is a continuation from the first chapter, if you're here; I assume you know what is going on.

"Without Morales, we're back to square one." Carver said in Deakins office the next morning, Esmeralda smacked her palm down onto the arm of her chair in frustration as she watched Carver leave. "He was our only lead in Argentina, too. Iso must've known that he's talk, & beat us to him. So… let's talk to his family." "No." Bobby interjected; both Alex & Esmeralda looked at him strangely. "First we need to find out how he's beating us to the punch." "Are you thinking a leak?" Alex asked. "It crossed my mind." Bobby replied as he opened the door for them.

"So, the leak was in the 2-7? That ought to make Van Buren happy." Deakins said a week later when they handed him the paperwork. "His name is Carl Mendez, he has family in Argentina & we found him to be on Iso's payroll." Esmeralda said. "You've got the warrant, I'll call Van Buren and you three go & pick him up."

"This is it." Alex said, on a whim, Bobby tried the door & found it to be unlocked; not the best of signs. They all drew their weapons & filed in & broke off into different areas of the apartment; Bobby into the kitchen, Alex into the bedroom & Esmeralda took the bathroom. She checked every nook & cranny, but failed to see Carl Mendez hidden in the space between the ceiling & the cabinets. He waited for her to holster her weapon before pouncing on her like a wild animal. Esmeralda elbowed him in the gut & slammed him against the wall as he reached for her weapon. In the common room of the apartment, Bobby & Alex heard the struggle & rushed to help her, Bobby's heart was racing as he feared not making it there in time. They burst in to see that he had a hand on her weapon, she was putting up a terrific fight to keep it in the holster, & Bobby wasted no time in leaping forward & shoving him up against the wall. "Carl Mendez, you're under arrest." He said, his massive size dwarfing the average sized Latino man as he was hauled away by uniformed police officers. Bobby looked to Esmeralda with a satisfied expression that melted as soon as it came in contact with her icy glare. "Why did you do that, I had it under control." She said dangerously as she stormed out with him following behind. "No, you didn't; he would have gotten a hold of your weapon if Eames & I hadn't come in. "Look, I've arrested worse in Argentina on my own… no backup, I don't need someone following behind me thinking that I need to be saved like some damsel in distress." She said as she turned on heel & walked out in a huff. "& here I was thinking you were getting her to warm up." Alex said snarkily as they watched her go.

"I would've thought you'd want me in chains for this." Mendez said in the interrogation room, Esmeralda gave a short laugh. "I've met mob wives that were tougher then you, Carl. You didn't do a very good job at cleaning up your apartment, either. We found all the evidence we need to bury you." She said. Carl remained smug & quiet. "You think that boss of yours is going to swoop out of the sky & save you, guess again. He's probably on his way to the airport now, leaving you to take the fall." Carl slammed his hands on the table as he cursed under his breath. "Why let him walk? Why should he get to go free? He was the one pulling the strings." Carl crossed his arms in front of him & heaved a big sigh as his lawyer conversed with him. "If he gives up his boss, what can you do for him?" His lawyer said. "Protection, Iso…. He has people everywhere, even in the jails. I want protection." Carl said, suddenly very afraid, Esmeralda smiled as she pushed a pen & paper across the table at him. "First, scratch our backs."

"That was some slick work, detective Torrez. I should have a warrant for you within the hour with this testimony." Carver said as he exited. "I'll get started on the paperwork." Eames said as she left them in the observation room. "I'm sorry for upsetting you back at Carl's; I didn't mean it as an insult. If it had been Eames in the same situation, I would have done the same thing. I know you don't work closely with any one partner in Argentina, but here we to things a little differently, we watch each other's backs." To his surprise, she smiled warmly at him; her shapely face took on a whole her level of beauty in wake of the new emotion. "Apology accepted, I did kind of over react, I just want to make a good impression here for my Government & my country & I was afraid not being able to handle that scum would make me come across as weak." She said. "When Eames & I solve a case, we always go out to celebrate. You're welcomed to join us; it's thanks to you we're even this close to solving it." Esmeralda smiled again. "I'll think about it."

"You'd think a celebrity lived here instead of a crime boss." Alex said as they looked at the huge mansion before them through its ten-foot high cast iron gates. "Here, you're going to have to punch it in, I didn't bring my glasses." She said as Bobby moved to the number pad. Suddenly, Esmeralda heard the telltale sound of tires kissing asphalt & only just had enough time to push Bobby out of the way as a limousine barreled through the open gate. They both landed softly on the grass, she on top of him. "Thanks." Bobby said as he felt his heart skip a few beats in response to Esmeralda's closeness; they stared into each other's eyes, entranced until Alex spoke up. "Guys! Get the lead out, he's getting away!" She yelled. "Move over, I'm driving." Esmeralda said as she pushed Alex aside. They caught up to the large, black car in what seemed like seconds as patrol cars backed them up Alex nervously tightened her safety belt, Bobby on the other hand, was leaning forward as far as his would allow, his hands braced on the dash. The limo driver attempted a turn with the large, awkward car; Esmeralda saw her chance & rammed it. Forcing it off the road & into a tree, both Iso & the driver opened their doors & prepared to run, but their backup was on them before they could even take a step. "Nice driving." Alex said, slightly breathless. "Thanks to the narrow Argentinean streets." Esmeralda replied.

"That's the last of it. I don't know about you, but I'm beat. I know that I said we'd go to dinner, Bobby but I'm afraid I'll have to take a rain check." Alex said. "But… I made reservations for is already." He said, trying his best to sound disappointed, he knew what she was doing for him & he owed her big time for it. "Hey… why don't you take Esmeralda, she did help us solve the case, after all." Alex suggested, with a wry smile. Bobby looked hopefully to Esmeralda, who sighed in defeat. "Okay."

End of chapter 2