Role Call and Sgt. Grey is chatting with a bearded middle aged plain clothes officer at the podium as the other officers file in and take their seats.

Jackson West and John Nolan each take a chair on either side of Lucy Chen.

"You left super early, you get any sleep at all"? Jackson asked

Lucy half nodded and half shrugged the question off. He and Nolan shared a look.

"Okay people settle in" Grey completed a review of last nights calls, then gestured to the piles of folders on the table in front. "Today we have some other departments looking for help following up with some offenders in our jurisdiction. Nolan, why don't you work out a schedule of who takes what, I want a copy of that on my desk before anyone heads out".

"On it sir" Nolan responds and glances back to Harper, his training officer who is rolling her eyes at his enthusiasm.

"Bradford and Chen" Grey points to his office "Follow me for your assignment"

Lucy looked back at Tim with a quizzical brow, he shrugged his shoulders indicating he didn't know either.

"Okay everybody be safe out there today, dismissed"

The other cop and Sgt Grey head to his office. Bradford and Chen following behind.

Grey closes the door behind them "Detective Mike Caruso this is Officer Tim Bradford and Rookie Officer Lucy Chen as you requested". They all shake hands

"What's this about"? Bradford asks standing with his arms crossed next to Chen.

Caruso sits in one of the chairs next to Grey's desk.

"Well, frankly you came recommended by DA Sean Delmonte. He seemed to think you'd be perfect for this assignment".

Caruso pulled a file from his briefcase and handed it to Bradford.

Chen moved closer to check out the file, and Bradford held it lower so she could see as well.

They both tried not to notice the heat generating between them when they were this close. Bradford cleared his throat and began to skim through the reports and photos.

Lucy tried not to breathe in too deep. Tim didn't wear cologne or aftershave but when she was this close to him she could smell the soap he often used, a heady mix of cedarwood and some other earthy tones she couldn't place. She recalled that smell of him from the day she was rescued. He'd pulled her so tight to him as she broke down. Her face buried in his chest, he cradled her head, bent down and whispered in her ear "you're alright Boot, I've got you". He repeated that mantra over and over until the paramedics arrived. He didn't leave her side for 24 hours, riding with her in the ambulance, then watching over her in the hospital until well into the next day.

She was so lost in that memory she didn't even see the first few pages from the folder. As terrible as that time was for her, the closeness she experienced with Tim was just as powerful. She hoped over time Tim would be the only part she'd remember so vividly.

The detective's voice brought her back to the present.

"We've had 3 cases all in the same neighborhood in Malibu" he began. "Two months ago there was a couple murdered inside their home. Nothing was taken, they were found in their bed by a neighbor who thought they were out of town and entered the residence to feed the couples cat. He noticed a kerosene heater knocked over with kerosene spilled all over the floor. He walked through the house, found them, and immediately called 9-11".

Bradford looked up from the folder "C.O.D."?

"Suffocation... but the spilled kerosene caught the eye of one of the responding officers who'd been at another crime scene in the same area" he continued. "About 6 months ago a house had burned completely to the ground with the family inside only a few blocks away. Multiple neighbors reported trying to call 9-11 but their calls couldn't be completed. The Fire Investigative Team suspected arson but couldn't prove it".

"You said 3 incidents?" Chen asked

"About a year ago a real estate agent contacted the Sheriffs office to report an entire family missing"

"Same area again"? Bradford asked

"Yes, this family was in the process of a move, the realtor said they'd received some sort of threats prior to going missing regarding the sale of the house, he wouldn't elaborate at the time, and now he's missing as well"

"Any other links between them"? Bradford asks.

"We're investigating all 3 separately and possible connections, but here's our concern now, the house that was supposed to be for sale a year ago, was about to be available again. We can't have civilians in there. We need to assess whether there's still a threat, and figure out the connection".

"Where do we come in" Bradford asked as he closed the folder. Chen leaned back. Immediately Tim felt the loss of that heat of having her so close. Again, he tries to push those feelings out of his mind. Ultimately he can't help how he feels, as inappropriate as those feelings may be. He can control the actions he would, or wouldn't take. And will continue to control that, if nothing else.

"ADA Delmonte wants us to have some UCs act as buyers moving into this home. He seems to think highly of you Bradford, thinks you could pass for one of the wealthy types who live on the beach down there and wouldn't be recognized in Malibu as a cop. Plus you can gain intel from the other property owners that they may not be willing to be as open with the authorities"

Caruso looked at Lucy "He's also impressed with how you handled yourself after your...ordeal with Rosyln Dyer and her protege. Since your identity was never released to the public no one would know your identity either".

"I'm not sure Chen's ready for something like this". Bradford hands the folder back to Caruso and puts his hands on his belt.

Lucy Chen opens her mouth to object, but before she has a chance Sgt Grey speaks up.

"In all likelihood this will be a few weeks living in a house on the beach in Malibu. Trust me, you won't wanna go home when this is over. You'll be able to get information from the neighbors about what's going on down there. Basically a cake walk, but in the event it's not...then I trust you'll both be ready for anything".

Caruso adds "We use Rookies as UCs all the time, we've even used cadets at the academy".

"Okay, well I'm a training officer, I don't work UC" Bradford insists.

Grey stands up "Accepting this assignment will bode well for your promotion Officer Bradford, you just passed the Sergeants exam".

"This is the assignment" he continues. Officer Chen, if you tell me you're not ready for this, I'll understand and we'll get someone else. You've passed all the physical and psychological tests to come back to work, but this is out of the norm and if you're uncomfortable diving into it...also, I don't need to tell you both having Delmonte in your corner wouldn't be a bad thing, especially if he really does become the DA".

All three of them looked directly at Lucy Chen. Grey's expression impossible to read, Caruso seemed slightly annoyed at Bradfords comment, and Lucy wouldnt even look at Bradford. She could feel his judgement without looking. Almost more than anything, she wanted to prove to him that she was read for this. That the year he'd put into her training was time well spent.

"You can count on me, I can do this sir" she says to Grey.

Grey smiles. "Alright".

Bradford just looks down at the floor, crossing his arms.

Caruso pulls out another folder. "Great, here's all the info on your covers. Okay, notify who you need to, you'll be out of contact for an unknown period of time. Take care of personal business, I'll meet you out back in twenty to drive you to the safehouse, where you'll pick up everything you need and we'll have a few folks there to help get you ready"