Many thanks to SylvieT for her review on the last chapter. She took my comments about watching out for forensic mistakes and case details to heart and is keeping an eye out for them!

On the subject of reviews: I've noticed a trend. Chapter one had 5, chapter two had 4, three had 3, ...and I think you see where this is going. Does this mean I should have wrapped this up in five chpaters,lol? Doesn't matter, the story is too complex to do that unless I wrote mega chapters. Anyway, here's hoping the trend turns itself around with this one.

An hour later, they got a hit from the BOLO. The car had been spotted in an area off I-15, near Industrial. There were some abandoned warehouses there and it would make the perfect place to hide the girl. Within minutes, Jim was there with SWAT and some other officers.

The uniforms spread out to search the area while Jim directed the search from a parking lot in the middle of the district. SWAT was on stand-by. Nick wanted to be there as well, since he'd been in on the investigation from the start. He searched with Mitch's team.

Noticing the sun's reflection off of metal between two of the smaller buildings, Nick spotted the car. Apparently the two buildings housed small offices and indoor storage rooms. After searching them, Mitch called for backup to search the much larger building behind them. Nick noticed that Brass was there before any of the others. This case had gotten personal for him in some way.

Jim watched as SWAT surrounded the building. He gave the Commander the "go" and they were in the building within seconds. Following half the team in, his weapon was drawn. They moved along the hallway, searching units to either side. Most were unlocked and easily dismissed.

The other half of the team entered from a door at the far back. They followed the same procedure as Jim's group. Suddenly there was gunfire from an office area in the middle of the building. Two members of the team sided up to the entrance and waited as the others gathered on either side. The commander gave the nod and the man on the left side tossed in a flash grenade and the two leaders charged through. Jim followed as the Swat team poured into the room. It was a large chamber with smaller rooms on either side. There was a bank of windows along the back wall and a door. That's where SWAT caught Sammy Chen and another man. The door was locked. Chen turned to fire at the team and was hit as they returned fire. The other man surrendered immediately. Jim heard the SWAT Commander calling for a bus as he and the other team members fanned out to search further. A call-out sounded from the far corner as two team members stood in the doorway to a room there.

His heart pounding in his chest and grim anticipation flowing through him, Jim passed the two and entered the room. There on the floor was a female body. The face was turned away and from Jim's viewpoint, he couldn't tell if it was a girl or a woman. The body looked emaciated and lay in a pool of blood. Jim groaned inwardly and sighed. Then approaching it slowly, he stepped around to see her face better. As much as this young woman's death frustrated him, he was relieved to see that it was not Mai on the floor. He wiped his hand downward over his face, exhaling as he did. And then anger boiled up and quickly, he headed out of the room towards Chen.

Normally SWAT shot to kill but in this case, they somehow left the suspect alive. He'd taken several rounds, however, and was bleeding heavily. Jim saw immediately that one had entered his chest, not too far from his heart. Two EMTs were working swiftly to try to stabilize him for transport. As Jim looked down at the perp, his feelings were mixed. Chen knew what had happened to the girl, knew where she might be now, so they needed him alive; but a part of Jim wanted to pull the EMTs off and let the SOB bleed to death. But then, maybe that would be too easy, too good of a way for him to die, Jim thought. Let him live…for awhile…

It was obvious Chen wouldn't be talking for awhile so Jim moved to the other suspect. He looked oriental, as well. "Your name," Jim barked. The man, barely more than a boy Jim thought, looked frightened. He looked down at the floor and refused to speak. "Look," Jim growled, "the clock is ticking… I want to know where the girl is and I want to know now."

Jim watched his eyes as they flickered towards the room with the dead woman. And then his eyes went to Chen before looking at the floor again. Mitch was holding him by an arm and had already cuffed him. It was easy for Jim to reach inside the suspect's pocket and pull out a wallet. Opening it, he looked for some ID. Chuckling maliciously, Jim held up a card. "Hey Mitch, looks like we got a real smart one here…says here on his library card that his name is Eddie Chang." Then looking at the perp, Jim asked "you Eddie Chang?"

Mitch squeezed on the suspect's arm and he flinched. Then looking up at Jim with a sideways glance, his eyes flashing anger, he replied. "I'm Ronny. Eddie is my little brother."

Jim snorted. "So Eddie got all the brains in the family, eh? Makes sense… I mean, here you are in police custody and a dead body in the next room… not exactly smart…"

Ronny looked up at him again, clenching his jaw. "I got nothin' to say…except I want a lawyer."

Jim smirked. "Yeah, 'bout the smartest thing you've done so far…lawyering up. Okay…" Then looking at Mitch, he snapped, "get 'em outta here…"

Jim followed the ambulance to the hospital and spoke with the doctor about Chen. He was headed for surgery and the doctor promised to call Jim with an idea of when he could be questioned, if he made it through the surgery.

On his way back to PD, he decided to swing by the Trang house. "I said I'd keep you in the loop," he told Jimmy Trang as the younger man opened the door. "I'm gonna be honest here, we found the guy that took her…or at least we think he's the one, but he's in no shape to talk right now. And his accomplice has asked for a lawyer. He's more afraid of what his bosses back in LA will do to him if he talks than he is of anything we can do. But I'm going to keep with it. I'm not giving up and I don't want you to either."

Trang nodded thoughtfully. "You said these people are from L.A. Do you believe Mai has been taken to LA?"

"It's a possibility," Jim sighed. "And I've alerted LAPD. They're watching the group closely. But my instinct says she's hidden somewhere here. The fact that Chen was still here and …evidence in the building where we found them…. Nothing's concrete, but…"

Trang looked at him with worried eyes. "Thank you, Captain Brass. When we first came to you, I was afraid that you would not give my daughter you're full attention." Jim frowned and looked at him inquiringly. The younger man continued. "It has been my experience that …" Then shrugging, Jimmy Trang looked squarely at Jim, his manner changing. "I am bui doi, child of the dust. I am used to being…overlooked. Even in America. My children look more American …less Vietnamese than I do, but still they have encountered prejudice. The way you spoke to me at our first meeting… I believed I made you uncomfortable; that you saw me as bui doi"

Jim took a deep breath. "No, it's just… you reminded me of when I was in Vietnam…some of the people I met."

"And those are bad memories," Trang said unhappily.

"Not at all…I mean, the war, of course…that was bad. But I met many good people…"Jim watched as Trang eyed him skeptically. "Sometimes I wonder how they are…where they are. I went back but couldn't find any of them."

Jimmy nodded. "I do not remember much about my homeland. I was very small when we left. What I do remember is not pleasant. My mother was moved to a work camp when I was an infant. Later she and her brothers escaped and went to Siagon. It was a dangerous life and when we escaped, left on the boat, it was even more so. But my mother and my uncles have told me stories…that there were some good times, even if they were hard."

Jim looked at the man before him and thought about war and the far reaching consequences. "Yeah..." Jim decided he needed to leave, get back to the investigation. "I need to get back…" They stepped toward the door but Jim stopped. "Just one question though…" he said softly. Jimmy Trang stopped and looked at him, despair in his eyes. "Your father…do you know who he was? Because there are ways to find him, if you know."

Jimmy's eyes hardened. "I do not. My mother used to talk about him when I was small but only to tell me I had his eyes… and that she loved him. Tim told me once that he had promised to go back for her but of course, he never did. She never gave up hope though."

Jim thought about the story. "She never married…. A Vietnamese man, I mean?"

"None would have her after she had shamed herself and her family with the American. Her brothers protected her from the anger of our neighbors but they could only do so much. I remember as a small boy, the other children would throw stones at me and call me names. My mother and I spent most of our time indoors. It was not as bad at the refugee camp but the hatred was still there…and the shame."

Jim's stomach turned as he listened to Trang. "I um….I'm sorry that that happened to you and to your mother. I had heard stories over the years, but I didn't realize…"

Jimmy had an introspective look on his face. "As a child," he said wistfully, "I dreamed that my father would come and take us back to America with him, as he had promised my mother he would do. I believed that he would, as did she. But as I grew older, I understood that it would not happen, that his promises were empty… that he would be ashamed of a Vietnamese son."

The words weighed heavily on Jim. "How can you be so sure? Maybe he tried…maybe he did intend to go back. But even if he didn't, who's to say he'd be ashamed of you."

"There is that saying….the road to hell is paved with good intentions." Jimmy's eyes bored into Jim as he spoke. "I hope my father is in hell," he said vehemently.

The younger man's attitude chilled Jim. "I um…well, I'm sorry," he said.

"It does not matter," Jimmy said coldly.

It was obvious to Jim that Jimmy Trang had years of anger and despair locked inside. "Okay, well… I'm going to talk with the suspect, see if I can get anything else out of him, now that he's had a chance to talk to his attorney. Detective Vega will continue to check in with our techs here and if you think of anything else…and one of us still needs to speak with your mother."

Trang nodded. "Thank you, Captain Brass. I believe that you are trying," he sighed.

Driving back to PD, Jim remembered the "professional" women he'd seen in Saigon when he was there during the war. Sadly he wondered how many had chosen that life and how many had been driven to it by the circumstances. How many had been village girls who'd hooked up with GIs and had paid for it heavily. And then his thoughts turned to An. Had she been forced into that kind of life because of him? As far as they knew, no one in the village knew how heavily involved they had become. He hadn't thought about it at the time, his mind obviously on other things. But he sighed regretfully as he realized what his relationship with An might have cost her. And again, he wished he had been able to find her when he went back. But then, maybe it was better not knowing.

"Until this moment, I never understood how hard it was to lose something you never had."

Anonymous

I keep forgetting... There's a new poll on my profile page about what should happen next season. It's all just for fun but sometimes the results are surprising. If you have a few minutes and would like to participate, I'd love to see what you guys think.