Please, don't turn the other way
I'm sorry, but I've strayed from the light that guides me.

The FBI partners had decided to meet in a small coffee shop to discuss the development (or lack thereof) of their recent case. Wearing his usual dark beanie and olive-green jacket, his bearded face calm and collected, Burlingame quickly found Kamilah Davis in the small crowd. Her curled light-brown hair set her apart from the rest of the customers, mostly students in hoodies getting a head start on their days. She sat alone at a small corner table with a tall cup of coffee, staring intensely at her phone. She glanced up as she heard his booted footsteps approach.
"No need to get up for me," Burlingame addressed her, noting that she was on her way to stand up. "No need to get me anything, either. I've got enough caffeine in me to last three days," he said while he sat at the opposite chair.
"Tablets in your coffee again?" Kamilah asked, already knowing the answer, as she put her phone in her pocket.
"You know that's right. At this rate, I'll need a new bottle soon, and I just refilled last week." Burlingame sighed. "Is it me, or is this whole Viscovi thing turning into a giant mess?"

Kamilah took a sip from her coffee and took her time before she responded. "It's not just you. This entire heroin operation- something's not right with it. I mean, the Viscovis have their base in the county, but they must have a bigger plan than simply running drugs into the city. They never plan anything on a small scale, and we've gotten no new intel recently. It doesn't help that Mithat Milonkovic isn't meeting with them and still in good standing with the public." After taking a deep breath, she said, "We need an inside man."
Burlingame looked questioningly at his partner, his normally relaxed posture suddenly tense. "No way, Kami."
"You don't even know what-" Kamilah began to angrily respond.
"-You're going to offer yourself, if you can't get me to agree to volunteer myself. And the answer is no to both options for obvious reasons. Our chief explicitly told us to continue with the surveillance, and I know that we are both upset by the amount of useless crap we've discovered, believe me, I know. Not to mention the group is extremely selective, and one does not simply stroll into a drug ring." Burlingame tried to placate his partner and attempted to lighten the mood with an admittedly bad joke.

Without the slightest glimpse of a smile, Kamilah simply said, "Chris Petronelli," in response.
"Who?" Burlingame got caught off his guard.
"A... friend of mine. He's with the Viscovi Brothers now but willing to cut a deal." Kamilah wouldn't meet her partner's eyes as she spoke.
"A friend? Shit, Davis, what were you thinking, contacting him? He knows you're part of law enforcement, and even if he personally doesn't out you-"
"-it could somehow be known to the rest of the gang that he's with me? Yeah, we talked about it," the younger agent remained steadfast in her pitch.

It didn't take an agent to look at Kamilah's face and recognize that Chris Petronelli was more than a friend, but Burlingame was respectful and more than that, he trusted his partner with his life, so he let that not-so-minor piece of information slip. "You're serious, then?"
Kamilah drank from her coffee for a long moment, put it down, picked it up again for another sip, and finally collected herself. When she spoke, her tone remained even and intelligent, without an ounce of impulsiveness. "Absolutely. He had mentioned to me that there's a possibility of a Poughkeepsie meet-up soon between Mithat and Angel Viscovi to work on a shipment deal of 70 kilos a week."
Burlingame let out a low whistle. "70 kilos?! I'll admit it's a great opportunity for an interception and a near-perfect bust," he deeply exhaled, "and I trust you on this Kami, which is why we're going to run it by the chief first."

Standing up at the same time, having reached an agreement, Agents Burlingame and Davis exited the shop and continued walking down the street in silence.
"I'll meet you back at the office as soon as I can. I'm going to speak to our mutual friend," Kamilah said after a minute.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Burlingame asked, and the look on Kamilah's face made him instantly regret that decision.
"You think I'm going to mess this case up, is that it? Don't you trust me?" If she had looked angry before, she now seemed outright vengeful as she lengthened her pace down the pavement. I should've known this would happen, and just kept this between me and Chris. Except being a member of law enforcement doesn't place me above those laws; give me rights that others don't have. Look at where honesty gets you, though...
"Wait up, Kami," Burlingame spoke in his usual calm manner, walking faster to match her pace. When he said her nickname, she suddenly turned around. "Please, you gotta know I'm looking out for you."
"I'm not your Kami anymore," she said, all the anger in her voice replaced by longing. "I'll see you in a couple of hours." One conversation with an ex, done. One more to go. Kamilah had reached her car, settled down in the driver's seat, and took out her phone. Dialing the familiar number, she thought for what felt like the millionth time, what the hell am I thinking?

"Hey," came the cheerful voice on the other end of the phone, with the sound of a happy baby in the background. "Any specific reason for calling, or do you miss me?"
Even though he was mostly teasing, Kamilah wasn't in the mood for casual banter. "Is Sita around?" she asked.
"Just us guys here," Chris responded. "Don't worry, Sita's fine, she just left her phone at home; went out for a short walk. And by 'guys', I mean me and junior. Say hi to your aunt Kami, Jake," Chris held the phone near his son's mouth, and Kamilah could hear his cute little chuckles.
"Good to know it's just the family, then. Listen, about what you told me last week- it's not official yet, but you might want to prepare yourself," the agent spoke cautiously. How am I able to be like this, like everything is okay, when I'm secretly putting my sister's husband in danger? No wonder Burlingame is concerned.

"You still there?" Chris asked, the sound of his son faded in the background.
"Huh?" came Kamilah's response, as definite as a 'nope, I got no clue what you just said'.
"I was putting Jakey back into his bassinet and telling you not to worry. I can handle myself," Chris's voice was full of confidence and strength, and neither of them doubted his words.
"It's not just you I'm worried about," Kamilah quietly replied. What if the Viscovis find out, and take out their anger on Sita? Or little Jake?
"Your sister just called," she could hear Chris tell Sita. "You want to talk?"
Kamilah hung up before Sita could say anything. She already suspects something between us, and there's no reason for this to turn into an argument. Besides, I called her phone, not his, and could call back later to say that I got pulled into a last-minute meeting. Is this how life is going to be from now on- looking at others, hearing them speak, and seeing this darkness in me?

Putting on her seat-belt, turning on the radio to whatever mindless morning talk-show she could find, Kamilah started her car and began the drive back to the city.