"Espo!"

He'd barely gotten into his car when Beckett's urgent plea sent a shiver down his back, kicking his fight or flight instincts into high gear because it wasn't the kind of tone that came with good news.

After an agonizingly long day, a small voice inside coaxed him to drive off, pretend he hadn't seen her rush past the security guard and into the middle of the parking platform. And then there was the other voice that suggested that Beckett might have something important to say, her words meant for him only.

Sighing in defeat when his eyes travelled to the small digital clock on his dash, woefully reminding him that 9pm had come and gone quite a while ago, he leaned heavily into the driver's seat, waiting for her to circle the car and get in, her breaths coming in short gasps.

"Espo, I need to talk to you."

Go figure.

Releasing a sigh, he rested his hands on the steering wheel, waiting patiently as she gathered her thoughts, seeing the fierce determination in her eyes that he never stopped admiring.

"What's this about?"

"I think you and I need to have a talk. ", she began, nervously glancing down at the floorboard, visibly struggling as she drew in a deep breath, "Espo, what are you doing tailing Lafayette's contacts? Where did you get their names from? Do you have any idea of the kind of danger you're putting yourself in?"

Feeling his pulse speed up at the sheer mentioning of Lafayette, he looked over at her in utter surprise, needing several moments to digest what had been said.

"What are you talking about? I don't know anything about Lafayette's contacts. If I did, we'd have this damn case solved by now."

"That's a lie and you know it, Espo, I have a witness that puts you at the scene of Larry Anderson's murder several minutes before the fact. What were you doing at the Mission that night? Why didn't you call in backup? Did you see our killer?"

The accusation felt like a knife being driven into his gut and he frowned, the inside of his car suddenly feeling unbearably hot.

"You've got an…eyewitness?"

The only thing making him feel worse right now was the look of utter betrayal in Beckett's eyes, the strong emotions associated with it cutting right through him.

"Sergeant Williams called me a few minutes ago after an older lady was released from the sketch artist. Turns out, she saw a Hispanic male, approximately 5'11", 170lbs, athletic built, dark fatigues follow our victim at close range just as he left the Mission. She was crossing the street as this…this man was looking straight at her. She said he had a small scar on his forehead, above the right eye, clean shaven, brown almond-shaped eyes, strong, well-defined jaws, short black hair in what she described to be a military-type cut. Halfway through the work with the sketch artist, Williams noted the similarities and showed her a picture of you. And would you believe it…she positively identified you. Now, I just spent my elevator ride down here on the phone with him, trying to keep this thing under wraps until I can figure out what the heck is going on here. So, why don't you enlighten me."

Swallowing hard, Esposito stared straight ahead, his mind scrambling at the accusations presented.

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Please… after all these years, don't you think I deserve something more than the standard answer any off-the-streets-thug would give me? Come on, Espo, you're going to have to do a little better than that."

Even though he wasn't looking, he could feel her eyes bore holes into his skull, seeking the truth whichever way possible.

"I swear to you, I don't know why this…lady would have seen me. I was home all night. For what it's worth, I am not the only brown guy in town. To quote some of the jackholes I've put away in the past, we Hispanics all look alike."

"You see, I am not buying a single word of his.", Beckett countered argumentatively and shook her head, "You haven't been the same since we went to see Lafayette. You've been acting like you got some chip on your shoulder about this whole damn investigation. And you know what I think? I think you somehow gained access to the information he's been withholding from us and you're out there at night, on some noble crusade to straighten out whatever you can to save your…your hero doctor's reputation. The problem is, I can't have you do that. If word of this gets out to Gates, you might lose your badge."

When he refused to answer, and instead proceeded to stubbornly stare out of his windshield, Beckett reached for his hand, gently caressing it with hers.

"Javi, we've been through a lot together. More than the guys upstairs can begin to imagine. I know how these…these kinds of topics wear on you, I understand it, believe me. But I can't have you turn this into a personal vendetta. Just because you don't want Lafayette to be guilty doesn't mean he isn't. We have to follow the evidence here. And right now, it leads directly back to him. The problem is that as of this evening, you're in the crosshairs as well. Call me paranoid all you want, but I can't seem to shake the feeling that Lafayette wanted for this to happen to take the guilt off his person and shift it right over to you."

"The guy is a damn good psychiatrist. But I think you're giving him too much credit in the murder department. He's got better things to do than kill."

"Then why the similar MO on the murders? Why is everyone around him dying? And what were you doing at the Mission the night before last? Please don't tell me Lafayette is putting you on to do this because you're his good old buddy Javier?"

Burdened under the heavy weight of her relentless questions, he glanced over briefly, not surprised to see her shake from the emotional toll this was taking.

Then, with an indifferent shrug, he cleared his throat.

"Like I told you, I wasn't there. This old lady must be mistaking me for somebody else."

Visibly disappointed, Beckett scowled, that genuine warmth so suddenly replaced with a thick layer of professional neutrality, as she reached for the door handle to her right.

"I had Williams promise me to keep this under wraps until tomorrow. After this, you're going to be on your own and I hope it's worth it. Because the one thing you should think about is what's going to happen when Lafayette decides that he no longer needs you."