Friday

FBI Office

Rachel had a lot to do today. Agent Howard and his team were investigating a group of suspected smugglers and could not figure out where they hid their contraband. They did not have enough for a warrant but were able to clandestinely record conversations the suspects had in public places. Of course, they were in Russian, so Rachel would have to be their ears.

One man was clear, but the other spoke in a hoarse whisper. She had to listen a few times to make out his words. Her translations took her time, but she did them well. She would first transcribe the conversation in Russian. Then she would translate it into English and back into Russian. If the second Russian text, was unlike the first, then she knew she had a discrepancy to fix in her English translation. After this, she would look for any popular phrases or symbols and look for hidden meanings. She would write down any additional meanings she could find and try replacing the original text with them and see if what resulted made sense.

When she was finally happy with her work, she would write a report of her findings; why she made the choices she made- translating always has choices to be made.

"How long is she going to take?" One agent tapped his foot impatiently. "She's had like two hours already."

"Why don't you do it?" Agent Howard snapped.

The agent shut up.

Rachel had a draft but it didn't quite make sense. They were taking about cuckoos and nests. Perhaps it was about clocks. That doesn't make sense. She looked at earlier parts of the conversation. Something about the sun. She sat there for a moment. Then she felt like a dummy. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. One flew east, one flew west, one flew over the cuckoo's nest.

Now that she had this part out, the conversation made sense. They were smuggling their contraband from east to west inside of cuckoo clocks. They had been getting past the FBI because the FBI had been searching the packages from Russia to the US, not from Russia Germany US. This is where they'll find the goods.

She reported on her findings. There was a shipment due on Monday, reportedly cuckoo clocks. They had them.

Bobby's Work

The new floors were being put in, and Bobby was still arguing with the old floor guy on the phone. Bobby got fed up and hung up on him. He needed at least one story done by today, so he could send pictures to his client.

His phone rang. What now? "Bobby."

"Hey cuz. Guess who's officially not married anymore?"

"WHAT!" Bobby couldn't believe he was finally free.

"You and Joyce are legally, no more. Judge signed the decree. You are free."

"That's great. You're the best."

"Just helping out family."

"Well, if you're ever in LA, I got a new smoker and the recipes just keep coming. I think its cause for a celebration."

"I think so too! Catch you on the flip side."

Bobby was now in a fantastic mood. He was going to be picking up a very fine bottle of wine on his way home. It was time for a celebration.

The Prosecutor's Office

Brenda woke up with a bit of a headache. She had quite a night on Thursday and did not want to be going to work this morning. She thought about calling in sick, but she was the boss. She was supposed to set an example. Aspirin, coffee, shower and time to go. Joel was sleeping on the couch. Lucky bum, Brenda thought as she got in her car.

When she pulled into work this morning, Gabriel was already there, as expected and Tommy was ribbing Jackie for being hungover at work.

"Someone got a little drunk last night," he taunted.

"Isn't it time you got to work?"

Everyone looked at the Chief. She did not look like she wanted to play.

"Yes, Ma'am," and Tommy was off. Brenda slipped into her office and closed her eyes. She wasn't quite ready for the world yet.

Atlanta, GA

Joyce was at the mall buying a new dress. She was going to quite a nice restaurant tonight, and she wanted to look her best. She was another step closer to marrying her beau and finally getting the star treatment she always wanted. The dress was $600, but it was well worth it. She got new shoes, and her hair done. She had the best look money could buy her, absent surgery, and she was ready to show off.

Her boyfriend was in a panic. The band he was shopping was losing value by the second. The banks were hesitant to loan him any more money for this project and he needed to find a way out before the wedding. Joyce wanted a lot from him, and he didn't know how he could make it happen. What would he tell her?

Washington, DC

Charlie studied diligently. She had 2 finals, a presentation and a lab report for the semester's end. The lab report was done. She had a draft of her presentation, and she was currently working her way though past exams for her finals. Christmas was so close. She just had to make it through the final stretch.

Charlie's friend's hadn't seen her this focused on school in a while. They assumed it was breaking up with her ex. "She's using studying as a way to distract her from the pain of losing at love," one of her friends said.

"Eventually, she'll have to make use of her wallowing time, so she can move on."

Little did they know Charlie was actually over him. She just wanted As to impress future employers.

Los Angeles

Major Crimes

Captain Raydor was in Taylor's office with one Emma Rios. They were arguing with how to proceed with the Stroh case. Emma wanted to move for a deal and start at the negotiating table. Raydor thought they should catch him by surprise, send him the indictment, and then, see what he does. She wanted to go to the table with the upper hand.

"We have a rock solid case against him. He'll fold," Rios was sure she could get a deal out of him

"He didn't fold on 5 murders. Why would he fold on the 6th?" Raydor was skeptical

"We do not have any eye witnesses for a trial. We just have two "ear-witnesses."

"And if he knows we're coming for him, we won't get anything else."

"What are you hoping to get out of him?"

"I don't know. Maybe he'll panic and call someone to destroy some evidence. Maybe he'll say something to a snitch. I do know, however, if we tell him 'hey, we're about to indict you for murder,' anything we might get out of surprising him is gone."

"I'm inclined to agree," said Taylor, unusually offering a position on a matter. "We can still pursue a deal but if we surprise him, we will have the upper hand."

"Fine, but this better work." Rios was gone. She had paperwork to fill out.

Raydor wanted this all over. No more appeals. She didn't want Rusty to have to go on the stand again. He had to plead the fifth almost a dozen times during the first trial. He almost threw up twice and she was afraid he was going to deck Stroh's lawyer on the stand. He didn't deserve that kind of stress. No one did.

The Loft

Eliza prepared to make a statue of David. She had sketches of him from every direction possible and a model from which to work. She started making her mold, slowly cutting away the material, making sure she captured him exactly as she wanted him.

She worked in layers, doing the large cut outs first and the smaller ones inside. She moved swiftly and with precision. After about an hour, it was time for a break. When Eliza's hands got fatigued, her carving skills suffered. She took breaks, so she always worked when her hands were fresh. It was slower, but she'd rather make 1 good cast a day than three bad ones, which she'd have to redo anyway.

Time for some cocoa and bad television.

Rusty's School

He got invited to a rager that was happening tonight. He looked up the address on his phone. It was out of the city, looked like farm land or something.

He texted Kyle during lunch to see if he wanted to go.

Kyle answered. Apparently Joe and Kevin wanted to come to the party as well, and they had plenty of treats.

They decided to get burgers in the city before heading to the party.

Marcus's school

They didn't have a game this Saturday. Their last game was next Saturday. Today was still a short practice, but Saturday was going to be a full-on scrimmage with the Catholic school two blocks away.

It was time to hit the field: warmup, short run, passing drills, longer run, stretch, coach's closing words and that was it.

Brenda picked up Marcus after his practice. She let everyone leave early. There wasn't much going on at the office anyway.

Marcus climbed into the car. "Hi, Brenda."

"Hi Marcus. How was practice?"

"It was chill. I didn't see you this morning."

"I slept in."

"Had a rough night? It happens to the best of us."

Brenda giggled. "Are you speaking from experience?"

Outside the FBI Office

Fritz was on his way home. He was going to pick up some pizza for the family. He bumped into Rachel on his way to the car. "Great job today."

"Thanks."

"How's the bureau been treating you?"

"Not too bad. They pay is nice."

"I never hear anyone say that about government pay."

"Well, I'm an independent contractor, so my salaries pretty alright. Also I'm no longer paying EU taxes."

"How was living in Europe?"

"Well the first few weeks were amazing. OMG it's so much better than the States. I'm never coming back, but then, I started to miss all of the little things: barbeque, Tex Mex, southern fried chicken, NY cheesecake. Eventually, I just got used to what Europe was missing, and then I got home. OMG America's so much better, I'm never leaving. Then, I started to miss all of the things in Europe that are not here. Now, I think I can appreciate the joys of both places."

"That sounds great. I've never spent that much time abroad."

"You should. It really is like nothing else." She casually eyed him up and down. He was quite a formidable man: tall, strong features.

"Don't let me hold you up." Fritz realized he had been talking to her for quite a while.

"Oh no. I wasn't up to anything other than being a third whee with Jackie and Tommy."

"Are they together?"

"No, they just eye each other longingly all weekend, driving everyone around them bonkers."

Fritz laughed. "Sounds about right."

"Where are you off too?"

"Pizza Palace. I was going to pick up something for the family. Would you like to have dinner with us?" Why did I ask that, said Fritz. Awkward.

"I would like that."

"What type of toppings do you like?"

"I'll eat pretty much anything."

Fritz called in two pizzas. Pepperoni and capers on one and sausage and onion on the other. Rachel followed Fritz to the pizzeria and then to the house.

Fritz called Brenda on his way to the pizza shop, telling her he had invited Rachel for dinner.

"The house is a mess, Fritzi."

"It was fine when I left."

Brenda had made quite a mess this morning trying to get herself ready for work. "I'll try and make it presentable."

"See you soon, Boo-Boo."

Brenda started running the dishwasher, wiping down counters. She scrambled to clean the bathroom and vacuum in the living room.

Marcus came out of his room. "Are we having company?"

"Your dad's co-worker, Rachel, is coming over."

Marcus picked up his room and started wiping down tables and dusting. Joel slept on the couch. They finally got the house looking decent when the doorknob started to turn.

"Fritzi!" Brenda greeted her husband with a kiss.

"Hi Dad! Hi Rachel."

Rachel looked around. They had a nice house. Fritz set the pizza on the table. Brenda washed her hands and started plating them. She knew her husband wanted pepperoni and Marcus sausage. "What would you like Rachel?"

She turned to look at Brenda. She looked quite radiant in a simple blouse and skirt. "Uh, pepperoni."

"You got it."

Fritz went to the table. Brenda brought over plates. Rachel went to help her. Brenda poured some home made iced tea for everyone.

"This is delicious," Rachel told her.

"Thanks."

Marcus bit into the pizza, nice crisp crust, cheesy, not too greasy. It was perfect.

"How was school, Sprout?"

"It was okay. Friday's are always the most boring day."

"Too excited for the weekend."

"No. It's just that's when we have a double period of history, belch."

"History can be fun."

"Not with Mr. Edwards. He speaks in the monotone voice, like a book on tape."

Brenda did her best impression of a completely monotone voice. "4 score and 7 years ago."

Everyone started laughing.

"Is he that bad?"

"Sometimes, I wish my face would fall off just so I can say something happened."

Rachel chuckled. She told Brenda a joke in Russian about "The Nose."

Brenda giggled.

After dinner, Marcus headed to his room to play games.

They made small talk. Rachel was a very pleasant person. She had a lot of energy, and was very easy on the eyes. She and Brenda discussed their favorite experiences in Europe. Brenda went to Amsterdam with a colleague when she was in her twenties. She had quite a time. They won some money at the casino, and managed to blow most of it partying all weekend: gourmet food, lots of absinthe and they found these two handsome men to cavort around with. As it turns out, these men were wanted for burglary and they all got taken to the pokey. The rest of their prize money went for bail.

Fritz hadn't heard this story before. Brenda was quite a wild child.

"How did you get a government job with an record?" Rachel was impressed. She had gotten super-vetted by the FBI, and she's just a contractor.

Brenda blushed. "Well, I …."

"You had fake ID!" Fritz was floored.

"My friend packed one for me, just in case. What? Did you not do anything bad in your twenties?"

"Can't say I didn't."

"Thought so."