A/N:

italics represent flashbacks

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Captain Rodriguez's comment about the club Julie, Linc, and Pete were working, Insomnia, being in a bad area had to be the understatement of the decade. It was about half an hour from Hollywood, where most of the clubs they worked were, and closer to Compton. Julie had lived in that area growing up. It was a hell hole. She hadn't been within a ten mile radius of that place since she'd left home at seventeen. But this was her job. She just had to suck it up and hope they'd find some evidence soon.

She'd already been upstairs to talk to the manager before she started her shift ten minutes ago. He was a real creep, which was the m.o. with most of the mangers in clubs like this one. She'd already seen two rooms with guards standing outside when she walked out of his office. Three downstairs with the same thing.

Julie moved through the crowds towards the bathroom. She looked herself over in the mirror, making a face as she ran her hands down the skimpy silver tank top and short black skirt. The heels she was wearing were about to kill her. All she wanted to do was slide them off and walk barefoot. They called this a uniform? She may as well be working the corner.

She adjusted her name tag and made her way back outside. Linc was standing over by the end of the bar waiting for an update. Julie walked up with a tray of empty drinks and stood beside him, filling them with various kinds of alcohol. "Any update?" Linc asks.

"Two rooms upstairs with guards. Two at each door. I'm guessing those are the higher ends. Three rooms down here with only one guard for all the rooms. They're down the hallway right behind you, but you won't get down there unless you pay, and actually-- you know." Julie tries to explain.

Linc clears his throat, letting her know that he understands. No pay, no bootie. "Yeah, I got it."

"This is gonna be a piece of cake. They may as well be advertising at the door."

Linc glances at the hallway in question behind him. Sure enough, there was the guard right in front. All three hundred pounds of him. "Don't get too excited there, Silver. We can only get the lay of the land tonight. We have wait to go in. If that guy wasn't there, I'd just go now, but if it causes a scene and we get booted.."

"No, that's no good. We're already on thin ice as it is." Julie starts looking around. "Speaking of which, seen Pete?"

Linc nods to his left behind him. "He's covering the other side." Julie looks in that direction. Pete was standing there staring right at her. He was ignoring every other girl around, and there were alot of them. Their eyes met and she immidiately looked back to Linc. "Looks like he's doing okay."

"He isn't doing much of anything. He's been acting wierd all night. He's usually up to about five different girls he's either danced or gotten his bump and grind on with by now. Hasn't so much as touched any of them. He get whipped when I wasn't looking or something?"

Julie's eyes dart to the floor, back to Pete, and then to Linc. "No. I mean-- I don't know. How would I know? Why would you think that? He doesn't tell me stuff about his girlfriends." She stops, realizing that she's rambling and Linc's looking at her like she's nuts. "I mean, I wouldn't know about his personal life. He doesn't tell me stuff like that. I thought you were the one he told everything too anyway. I never see him with anyone else."

Linc smiles a little. "He ain't my homie if that's what you're getting at, but yeah-- we're friends I guess. He just hasn't said anything about a lady in his life is all. I'd think he'd be bragging up a storm about it. Always talking about how he's such a ladies man."

By the time Linc had finished his sentence, Julie had completely zoned out. She couldn't believe that after only two weeks of seeing Pete he was being this loyal. It was like he'd become a completely different person. She didn't feel like she'd changed at all. What the hell did that mean? Linc snaps his fingers in front of her face. "What?" she asks him.

"How did the meeting with the manager go?" Linc asks her again.

Julie lifts the tray with both hands. "Oh, fine. Just your usual asshole, club manager. He seems sleazy enough to assume he's running the whole thing. There's an assistant manager too. He won't be here until tomorrow night. His name's Jack Petrie. He may even run it for him. Haven't figured it out yet."

"It's information. That's good enough for me. I'm gonna let you get back to work. I'll be outside checking out everything in the back. Maybe they have back doors that lead into the alley or something." says Linc, walking past her.

"Good idea. Be careful."

"Always. I told Pete to keep an eye out for you." he tells her, before slipping out.

Julie walked over to the large bachelor party with a tray full of drinks. "Three margaritas? Two Vodka tonics, one with a lime. One White Russian. Six beers. One of them light." One of the men tastes his drink and immidiately slams it down on the table, almost breaking the thin glass. "Sweetheart, I don't know how long you've been a waitress, but this isn't a White Russian, and if it is it's the worst I've ever had."

The man holds up the glass to her. She tries to put on a fake smile as she takes it from him. All Julie wanted to do was spit in the drink. "I'll get it right back to you. Sorry about that. It's my first night. You know how it is."

"It shows. No offense." the man says, sarcastically.

Her plastered smile fades as she turns around and goes back to the bar, refilling the drink. She goes back and hands it to him. He tastes it and looks pleased. Turns out, Julie had put the wrong mix in the drink before. She should have done it again just to piss him off. Jackass. "This is great. Thanks. See? I knew you could do it."

Julie turns to leave when she feels a hand around her waist pull her back. She whips around and the man from before is looking her body up and down. "Listen, are you working later? Is there someone I can talk to that can arrange and little get together? Your manager maybe?"

It was taking all her will not to pop this guy in the face. His hand roamed from her waist to her ass. She gently removed it. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm a waitress. This isn't that kind of club, and if it is I'm not the girl to ask. Try someone else."

He takes twenty dollars out of his pocket, stands up only inches away from her face, and sticks it in her cleavage. She doesn't move. "I'll do that," He glances at her name tag. "Julie. It was nice talking to you."

Julie puts on the fake smile again, staying calm. The last thing she wanted to do was blow her cover. As far as she was concerned, what had just happend could be considered evidence. "You too. Have a nice night."

As soon as she turned around, Pete was standing there. He was fuming, and staring down the man who'd just had his hands all over her. Julie quickly stepped in front of him and placed her hands firmly against his chest. "Pete." she whispers. He lunges forward, but she pushes back harder. "Don't. Please. Please, Pete. Don't do this to me."

Julie takes hold of his hand, trying to pull him away from the table. They hadn't noticed they were standing there yet. There were too many people dancing around them. "We need to talk in private right now." He hasn't looked away from the laughing man who was now chatting it up with a new cocktail waitress. "Pete." she says, more firmly.

Pete angerly walks past her towards the bathrooms. He stops in the hallway and kicks the wall. Julie just stands there watching. She was just as angry as he was. He looks back at her. "What? What did you expect me to do? That asshole's hands were all over you and then he sticks money down your shirt. What? I was supposed to just stand there and watch the show?"

"Yes! You should have--" she stops when someone walks past them into the men's restroom. "We can't talk about this here." She pulls him into the unisex bathroom on the end and locks the door behind her. "You should have let it go, Pete. You're gonna blow our cover. Why are you acting like this?!" she shouts.

Pete puts his hands on top of his head in exasperation. "The guy had his hands all over you, Jules! I was-- Jesus, I was trying to help you out. I was coming over to see if you were okay after he grabbed you. I was just gonna act like some concerned good samaritian or something. I get there and he's fucking groping you! I lost it for a second. I wouldn't have done anything."

"Pete," Julie starts, coming closer to him. "I had to hold you back. I was there too remember? Don't give me that shit. You would have compromised all of us if I hadn't of been there to stop you from tackling the creep."

Pete looks down at the floor, nodding his head as she's talking. She was right. Julie sighs, draping her arms over his shoulder blades. "Look at me."

He looks back up at her and kisses her bare arm. "You're okay?"

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm fine. I can take care of myself. I've been doing this for as long as you have, remember? And if you say but you're a girl I'll kill you."

"I'm sorry," He pulls Julie into a hug, stroking the back of her hair. "I lost it. It's just that guy.."

Julie pulls away from him. "That guy is like all of the other guys in places like this. I'm used to it. I know how to handle myself with people like that. You don't lose your temper, especially if it's a customer. You just roll with it. If he gets too rough you call one of the bouncer's over. It wasn't even close to being that bad, Pete. Trust me. I've seen girls, just kids, get thrown and smacked around." She laughs. "All he did was touch me. That's allowed. Occupational hazard, which is why I have a different occupation."

Pete isn't laughing, and looks even more upset than before. "I've never been like this. I don't know what happend to me, really. It's fucked."

Julie takes both of his hands. "No one saw us. It's over. Don't worry about it. Just, you know, don't it again. If I need your help, I'll ask for it."

He lifts her hand to his lips and kisses the top. "You wouldn't have to ask. I'd do it anyway."

"I know."

Julie left the bathroom first and as soon as she did Linc came out of the small hallway. He tipped the guard in front and spotted her from across the room. He walked over to her just as Pete was coming out. "Find anything?" Pete asks Linc.

He takes an ID a pay stub out of his pocket. "I went to the alley back there and wanted to see if the door on the side of the building is the one that leads to one of those rooms. It is. I paid for a session so I could check things out. I got put with this girl and she started talking. I think she was drunk or high or something like that. Her speech was slurred, but she knew what she was talking about. From what she told me, I know what they do, how they do it, and most importantly how they get away with it. Now, I--"

Linc stops talking when he realizes Julie is staring down at the ID. "What's wrong?"

Pete looks to her, concerned. She was shaking and looked like she was about to cry. "Jules?" He put his hand on her back.

"Th-- this is the girl that you talked to back there? The one that danced for you?" Julie asked him.

Linc nods. "Yeah, the kid in the picture. That's her. Why? Do you recognize her?"

Julie hands him back the ID. "She's my sister."

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Coming Up: Julie doesn't want Linc or Pete to use her sister, Amy, as a source of information for the case.