A/N: One more chapter left. Thanks all!
Santana had called Jerry back immediately after receiving the text. She had wanted to come in right away but Jerry told her that their findings weren't exactly solid yet and the investigation team was still digging deeper.
"You were right," Jerry said, "It's in the money trail. We found a $10,000 payment from Bronson's office to a Sambra Banner Company.
"Sambra Banner Company? He spent $10,0000 on banners? How is this comp...," Santana stopped, a realization coming to her, "Sambra. Abrams. I get it. How cute."
"I knew you'd like that," Jerry said chuckling.
"So I take it Abrams is owner of this company?"
"I've got some of our accountants looking into it," Jerry said, "Hopefully by the time you come in tomorrow we'll have more."
"I can come in now," Santana said.
She really didn't want to leave Brittany and especially not now when she had spent almost an hour cooking, but Santana was sure she'd understand. Hell, she was sure Brittany would insist on going too.
"No, it's not necessary," Jerry said, "Let's see what the team finds first."
"OK," Santana said, glad she wouldn't have to ruin Brittany's dinner, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Hey wait," Jerry said, "I just wanted to say that you've been instrumental in solving this case. Your detective skills are on point and when you're done with patrol you should aim to make detective."
Santana was sure she blushed at the compliment and was glad she was talking to Jerry on the phone and he couldn't see her. She respected Jerry and hearing him prise her meant a lot.
"That's what I want," Santana said, "I'm planning on taking the detective test. I've got two years left on patrol, but as soon as that's done, I'm taking that test."
"Good," Jerry said, "This case will already go a long way to help you get that badge in the future. I've already sent in your recommendation to the higher ups about you."
"You have?" Santana asked, surprised, "When?"
"About a week ago," Jerry said, "I wish I could add you to my team now. We could use you on other cases."
Santana tried to stop the big smile from forming on her face, but failed. She felt like Jerry had validated all her hard work. She felt a sense of accomplishment she had never felt before.
"I'm sure you do," Santana joked, "Don't worry, making detective will be my top priority."
"Good."
"Santana!" Brittany called from the kitchen, "Dinner's ready!"
"Is..is that Brittany?" Jerry asked.
"Hey thanks again," Santana said into the phone, ignoring Jerry's question, "I'll talk to you tomorrow but call me if anything big happens till them OK?"
"Umm yeah, sure," Jerry said.
Santana hung up before Jerry could ask any more questions.
"Hey," Brittany said coming into the living room, "Table's all set and my world famous Chicken Alfredo is done. And so...you OK?"
"Oh fine," Santana said, putting her phone back on the table, "Dinner smells great!"
"Who was that?" Brittany asked.
"Jerry. The accountants think they found a financial connection between Abrams and Bronson."
"Really?" Brittany asked, excited," That's awesome! Do we need to go to the station? I'll just put the food in tupperware and..."
"No Britt," Santana interrupted, "They don't need us. They're still looking into it and there's really nothing we can do there. We'll just check in tomorrow."
"Are you sure?"
Santana closed the gap between her and Brittany and put her arms around her waist, "I'm sure," she said, "And I'm glad because that food smells delicious and you worked too hard on it to save for later."
"It wasn't that hard," Brittany said putting her arms around Santana's neck, "But yeah, I'm glad our dinner wasn't ruined."
"There's more," Santana said, "Jerry wrote up a letter of recommendation and wants me to go after the detective badge as soon as my patrol is over."
"Of couse he does" Brittany said, smiling, "You've been amazing on this case and without you we wouldn't have solved it."
"I'm sure you would have," Santana said a bit embarrassed by Brittany's praise.
Brittany put her hand under Santana's chin and lifted her face so she could look into Santana's eyes, "Listen to me. You are the best cop this force has and Jerry is lucky to have you on his team. You're amazing. And if it wasn't for you, we wouldn't have figured out Artie's connection with Bronson as fast as we did. You deserve this, Santana. I'm so proud of you."
Santana felt like she wanted to cry. Hearing Brittany tell her she was proud of her meant so much. Santana was no stranger to hearing accolades from her friends and colleagues, everyone was always telling her what a great cop she was. But, hearing Brittany say it, now she really believed it, now those words meant something.
"Thank you," Santana said softly.
"I love you," Brittany said as she leaned down and kissed Santana.
Santana let herself get lost in the kiss. She felt like her whole life was coming together. Her career was on the right track, she had amazing friends and now...now she also had Brittany.
"I love you Brittany," Santana said, pulling back, "I'm so glad I was so picky with my partners."
Brittany laughed.
"Me too," Brittany said, "Because now that I got my hands on you, I'm hanging on for dear life. Everything is just better now because I have you."
"Britt," was all Santana could say. She tightened her arm around Brittany and hugged her tight, "Me too."
Brittany kissed the top of Santana's head. She loved this woman more than anything and was serious when she said she'd never let her go. Brittany was never one to believe that 'the one' existed. At least not for her. But she was so glad to be proven wrong.
"Come on," Brittany said giving Santana one last squeeze before letting go, "Let's eat. And so you know, I will be bragging that I have a hot, bad ass detective girlfriend."
"Britt, I can't go for detective for another two years," Santana said.
"We'll then, in two years, I will be bragging that I have a bad ass detective girlfriend. Right now I can brag I have a bad ass cop girlfriend," Brittany said and winked.
"Oh yeah?" Santana asked, her heart soaring at Brittany talking about them being together years from now.
"Yup. And also in a few years, you can help me make detective."
"Gladly."
"Then we can be like...uh...wait what are two famous lady detectives? Oh! We can be like Rizzoli & Isles!"
Santana said, "Uh, Britt I think one of them is a doctor."
"Oh," Brittany said, "Well, they still solve crime."
Santana just shook her head, smiling as she followed Brittany to the dinning room.
###
Santana looked over the financial reports again. She sat in the conference room that had been turned into the makeshift headquarters for this case and was looking over everything suspicious the accountants had found. The team had found a total of three receipts that connected Bronson to the Sambra Banner Company. All three were for the same amount; $10,000 for "services rendered". In the memo section the services were listed as being signs and banners for Judy's future run for governor.
The door to the room openend causing Santana to look up.
"Hi," Brittany said coming in, dressed in full uniform, "How goes the paperwork?"
Santana smiled, and stood up to greet her, "Hi."
Brittany was glad Santana was alone in the room because it allowed her to hug her girlfriend hello. It was a quick hug and not as tight as she wanted it to be.
"This damn equipment belt makes hugs hard," Brittany said as she sat down next to Santana.
"I missed you this morning," Santana said, "I don't like waking up and not seeing you there."
"I didn't like it that much either," Brittany said.
Last night, they had dinner and by around nine, Brittany had Puck pick her up and gone back to her place. She didn't want to leave Lord Tubbington alone in a new place and Santana had to come in early to work, so they decided to spend the night apart.
"Maybe I'll stay at your place tonight," Santana teased with a smirk.
"Oh, yeah," Brittany said bitting her lip.
Santana took a deep breath fighting the urge to lean over and kiss Brittany.
"This is why we can't work together," Santana said, "Way too much sexual tension."
Brittany leaned in very close, "I'm so turned on right now," she said softly.
Santana took a deep breath and pushed Brittany away playfully.
"You suck," Santana said with a chuckle, "And the only reason I missed you this morning was because I wanted you to make me breakfast. That dinner last night was amazing. I may have to keep you around."
"So now my cooking skills are the reason you love me?" Brittany said, pouting.
"Yes."
"Liar."
Santana laughed.
"So, tell me the latest," Brittany said wanting to get back to business, "The doc said I'm fit for desk duty."
Santana turned on her business mode switch. Being alone with Brittany seemed to turn her into girlfriend mode, even at work. That needed to stop. She handed Brittany the paperwork and explained what they found.
"But the governor's race isn't even for another like 18 months," Brittany said, "And no one really knows. Why are they printing signs already?"
"They're not," Santana said, "It's just a cover for the money."
"So is this enough to arrest John?" Brittany asked.
"Not really," Santana said, "Jerry is talking to the D.A. now. I think we're going to need Artie to testify."
"But then he'll get a deal," Brittany stated.
"I know," Santana said disappointed, "But we need him to get Bronson."
"No wonder he was so calm about getting caught," Brittany said leaning back, "He knew we'd need him."
"Yeah," Santana said, "We can't tie him to the murders. There was no evidence he was there and one of his guys confessed to the murders. He didn't fair too well in interrogation. Cried and spilled everything."
"So Artie won't go to jail?" Brittany asked, worried. No way this guy should be free.
"Yes he will," Santana said, "But depending on the deal and us getting enough to nab Bronson, he may not get as much time as he should."
"Shit."
###
Brittany knew she had been in the same position far to long when she reached for another file and her back tensed. She slowly sat up straight and stretched her back. She, Santana, Tina, and Puck sat around the large conference table looking over receipts, tax forms, transcripts and other paper work dealing with John Bronson.
Brittany looked across the table and saw Santana engrossed in a file. Her brow was scrunched up in concentration and Brittany couldn't help but smile. She knew Santana would make a great detective and loved that she was so dedicated to her work. She found Santana inspiring and hoped to one day be half as good as Santana at the job.
"Wow," Tina said dropping a file on the table, "I had no idea Quinn's family was so loaded. I mean, jets, mansions, hedge funds...good greif."
"Yup," Puck said, "But you'd never know it looking at Quinn."
"No," Tina said, "I still can't believe she's even a cop. She could be in France right now, sipping wine and eating cheese."
"Yeah," Puck said, "But her mom would still be in danger."
"That is true," Tina said picking up another file.
"Hey," Santana interrupted, "Has anyone come across anything that cost $100,000?"
"Nope," Tina said, "I'm looking at all the $300K stuff and over."
"Not me," Puck said.
"Me neither," Brittany said, "What'd you find?"
"Bronson made a bunch of random withdrawals in the course of over six months. Cash. All totaling $100,000. He's supposed to report all his spending to the Fabray Estate but there's nothing on this money anywhere."
"More money for Abrams?" Puck asked.
"No, I don't think so," Santana said, "All the Abrams money went through that bogus sign company. I'm not sure what this is."
Santana was snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened and Quinn came into the room.
"What have you all found?" she asked.
"Quinn!" Brittany said, "Your not supposed to be here. You're off this case."
"I'm not going to help," Quinn said, "I'm just here for an update."
"Quinn..." Brittany began.
"Hey Quinn," Santana said, handing Quinn the file she was looking at, "You know anything abut these withdrawals?"
Quinn looked over the file and shook her head, "No. But I don't really interact with John much. Only when I have to. He could have used that money for strippers for all I know."
"I'll be glad to check on that," Puck said.
Quinn smacked him on the head.
The door opened.
"OK gang," Jerry said coming into the room and his eyes immediately went to Quinn, "What are you doing here? I told you you couldn't be part of this investigation."
"I called her," Santana lied, "Wanted to ask her about some stuff I found."
"Fine," Jerry said sounding annoyed, "Well in any case, I guess it's a good thing you're here so you hear this news from me."
"What news?" Quinn asked nervously.
"We picked up John Bronson," Jerry said, "About an hour ago."
Everyone started talking at once, wanting to know what had happened.
"Quiet!" Jerry shouted, "Listen. The D.A. cut Artie Abrams a deal..."
Everyone started talking at once again.
"Shut it!" Jerry said now exasperated, "Jesus , it's like I'm talking to a bunch of kids. As I was saying, Abrams cut a deal in exchange for Bronson. Abrams is willing to give us everything we need. He admitted the bogus sign company was a cover for payments from Bronson and he gave us the information we need to tie the two together. We're just waiting on the confirmation before we can officially arrest him."
Santana was fuming. Abrams didn't deserve any type of deal. He had terrorized this city, made Quinn's life hell and almost killed Brittany. He deserved to rot in jail. If she had had more time, she was sure she could have found the connection to get Bronson without cutting any deals with his partner in crime.
"I can't believe this," Quinn said softly.
Brittany looked at her best friend and her heart sank. She hated that Quinn was going through all of this. All Quinn had wanted to do all her life was be a cop and lead a normal life. But instead she was stuck living through this mess.
"I'm about to go question him," Jerry said and held his hand up when others started to speak, "And no you can't observe this questioning. I need you all here. Looking through this mess."
"I'm observing," Quinn said defiantly, "I'm not officially on this case anyway. And maybe I can confirm if he's telling the truth or lying on anything in regards to my family."
Brittany saw Jerry think about it for second then agreed. When they both left the room, Santana threw the file she had been holding on the table.
"Well fuck!" she said, clearly mad, "Stupid D.A. If they had given me, us, more time we could have found a connection."
"Maybe the deal isn't that great," Puck suggested, "Maybe he gets 10 years instead of 20?"
"I guess we'll find out sooner or later," Brittany chimed in.
"Fuck!" Santana said.
###
"You gotta eat something Santana," Brittany said, placing a plastic bag on the table.
After Jerry had left, Brittany, Santana, Tina and Puck had stayed another three hours looking through files. Around one, Puck and Tina said they needed a break and food. And truth was, so did Brittany. But when she tried to get Santana to join them for lunch, Santana had refused saying she wasn't hungry and wanted to keep working.
Brittany couldn't convince her to leave. Santana had gotten almost obsessed with those random withdraws Bronson made and she was determined to find the connection. Brittany had left Santana to the file and went to the station cafeteria to get food while Puck and Tina had decided to go to an actual restaurant. Brittany had refused to go with them because she wanted to bring Santana food right away.
"I'll eat later," Sanata said not looking up from the paper she was reading.
Santana knew she was on to something. That money had to mean something and she needed to find out what it was.
Brittany took out a turkey sandwich, fruit salad and ice tea from the bag and placed them in front of Santana.
"Eat," she said.
"Brit..."
"Eat!" Brittany said again more forcefully.
Santana couldn't help but smile. She couldn't count the number of meals she had missed because of work and the subsequent headache that followed because she hadn't eaten. She would have done the same thing here, but Brittany wouldn't let her. Brittany was taking care of her.
"OK," Santana said pushing the files away, "I'll eat."
"Good," Brittany said as she took out her chicken salad sandwich, piece of cheesecake and Diet Coke.
"Uh, wait," Santana said, "You get yourself cheesecake and I get a fruit salad? Not fair."
"We'll share," Brittany said, "So tell me, any progress on that money?"
"Ugh, I don't know," Santana said opening her bottle of ice tea, "What did he do with that money? I'm going to cross reference the dates of the withdraws with phone records, receipts , trips to the dentist, anything. Maybe I'll find something."
"Is this what I have to look forward to when you become detective?" Brittany asked with a small smile, "You obsessing over cases?"
Santana had taken a bite out of her sandwich as Brittany talked. She smiled as she chewed and shook her head.
"I promise," Santana said after swallowing, "That I'll try my hardest to leave work at work."
"Thank you," Brittany said and took a bite of her own sandwich.
"Thanks for bringing me lunch," Santana said, "No one's ever done that."
"What?" Brittany asked surprised, "No one has ever bought you lunch? I don't believe that at all."
"No, no," Santana explained, "I mean, I get so engrossed in work sometimes that when I've told people I wasn't hungry and to go on without me, they do. You're the only one that didn't listen."
"Because," Brittany said, "There is no way I was going to let you skip lunch. You need energy to concentrate and so you won't get so moody."
"Moody, huh?" Santana asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah," Brittany said smiling.
They finished their lunch and didn't talk about the case. For the next twenty minutes they just enjoyed each other's company.
"Is Jerry still talking to Bronson?" Santana asked, cleaning up, "It's been hours."
"I passed by the interrogation room on the way to get food, and he was still in there," Brittany said, "He has to give us an update soon. I'll text Quinn."
While Brittany texted Quinn, Santana gathered all the empty wrappers and threw them away.
"Oh! He's done," Brittany said reading Quinn's response, "Quinn's coming to tell us what happened."
"Good," Santana said, "Can you hand me those phone transcripts?"
Brittany reached to the other side of the table and grabbed the files Santana wanted and gave her one folder.
"Tell me what I'm looking for," Brittany said opening the other folder, "And I'll help."
"Thanks," Santana said, "Umm, just look for any activity that happened in these five dates."
"Yes Detective Lopez," Brittany teased.
Santana was sure she blushed a little.
"So," Brittany said, "You think our partners are missing us?"
"I'm sure they are," Santana said, "But I talked to Quinten this morning and he says he's loving being at city hall."
"Jim said the same thing," Brittany said, "He likes that he's not in a car all day. And he says he feels like the secret service protecting the mayor."
Brittany actually missed Jim and couldn't wait to get back on patrol. She loved that she was helping out on this big case that would no doubt look great on her record and would go a long way into helping her make detective in a few years, but she still had a lot to learn on patrol.
The door to the conference room opened and Quinn came in with a smile on her face.
"We arrested him," Quinn announced.
"Whoa! Really?" Brittany asked both excited and surprised.
"What happened?" Santana asked.
Quinn sat down and recounted what had happened in the interrogation room.
John Bronson had, of course, denied any involvement with Artie Abrams. He denied knowing the sign company was owned by Artie and that he contracted the company to help his wife prepare for when she announced her run for governor.
While he was being questioned, the D.A. was working out the final details of Artie's deal. In exchange for this testimony on Bronson he'd get a significantly reduced sentence. Artie provided the evidence that Broson new the sign company was just a front.
"Wow," Brittany said, "Sucks about Artie, but I'm glad we got John."
"Me too," Quinn said, "John's being processed right now."
"How's your mom?" Brittany asked.
"She's...shocked, I guess," Quinn said, "But she's fine. She's handling everything better than I thought. She's pretty much in Mayor Mode now and working with her team on how to minimize the damage to her image when this news leaks."
"Sugar?" Santana asked.
"Yup," Quinn said, "Sugar's already working on writing something. I guess this really is over now."
"Thank God!" Brittany said.
"Yeah," Santana agreed, "But we should still keep looking at these files. Gather more evidence against him."
"Well," Quinn said standing up, "I'm going to go see my mom. My brothers and dad are on their way too. Let me know if you find anything OK?"
"Sure," Santana said.
"Mom has a press conference later today," Quinn said, "And some sort of benefit later tonight for women's shelters."
"She's still going to that benefit?" Brittany asked, "Even after all this?"
"That's my mom for you," Quinn said, "Mayor Mode."
When Quinn left Santana and Brittany continued looking through the files until Santana noticed something.
"Look at that," Santana said, "On each of the dates the money was withdrawn, Bronson made a phone call to the same number."
Brittany looked over at what Santana had noticed. On everyone one of the days Bronson had taken out this miscellaneous money he had mad a phone call to the same number within an hour of taking out the money.
"We gotta trace that number," Brittany said.
As they were getting up, Puck and Tina walked in.
"Anything new turn up?" Puck asked.
"It sure did," Santana said.
###
The story of the mayor's husband conspiring against her spread like wildfire across the city. It was chaos. Sugar once again had become the main reporter for the latest breaking news and was quickly becoming a local celebrity.
Jerry had put an end to any further investigation on the case saying that with Artie's testimony and the evidence he provided, they had enough for an arrest.
"Our job is done," Jerry told them, "Pack up all these files, log them in and wrap it up. Let the lawyers dig further if they want."
Puck, Tina, Brittany, and Santana had packed everything up and cleared out. But Santana had insisted on making a copy of the files that contained information about the withdraws and phone numbers. At least until that number was traced. Santana had to know what that money and phone number meant.
The mayor held her press conference and made a short statement on the arrest of her husband. Then she went on to say she would be attending her benefit and that this incident would not affect her duties. Judy had even invited Santana, Brittany and all the other officers who had worked on the case to attend the benefit. Off the clock of course. The case was over.
The trace on the number came back and was registered to a bar out in Watts. Johnson's Bar & Grill. Santana recognized the name.
"What is it?" Brittany asked.
"It's a known gang hangout," Santana said, "I've dealt with them before. The only reason anyone goes to that bar is to look for trouble. And why the hell is a rich, white, Beverly Hills guy doing business with a bar in Watts?"
Santana reached out to one of her confidential informants, Slinky, a life long petty criminal who Santana had sort of befriended when she was a rookie. Slinky had been instrumental in helping Santana catch that drug ring a was selling drugs to kids.
"What you want Sexy?" Slinky asked over the phone.
"I need you to get some info for me," Santana said.
"It'll cost you the usual," Slinky siad, "And a kiss."
"How about I just pay you the money and not punch you in the face?" Santana said, annoyed. She was not in the mood for Slinky's shit right now and went on to tell him what she needed.
"Damn J Lo, I'm just playin'," Slinky said, "I'll ask around about this Bronson guy. I'll call you back in a few hours."
Santana hung up and started heading back to the lockers. Technically her shift was done.
When she got there she spotted Brittany and saw she had already changed into regular clothes.
"Hey," Santana greeted, going over to her.
"Hi. So you talk to your CI?"
"Yeah, he's going to call me back in a few hours," Santana said.
"You don't want to go to this benefit do you?" Brittany asked closing her locker.
"Not really," Santana said letting out a breath, "Not until I find out what Slinky has to say."
"That's his name?" Brittany asked, amused, "That's kinda funny."
"I've known him for years," Santana said, "Best snitch on the street."
"Want me to pick you up for this benefit?" Brittany asked.
"Umm, no. That's OK. I'll just meet you there?"
"Sure," Brittany said, a bit disappointed.
"And," Santana said softly, "I'm bringing an overnight bag too. For our sleepover."
Brittany was sure her smile couldn't get any bigger, "Great."
Brittany had to stop herself from leaning in and kissing Santana.
Santana in turn looked around and saw there were way too many people around.
"I'm going to go to my locker before we get too unprofessional," Santana said, "I'll see you at the benefit, OK?"
"OK," Brittany said.
Santana went to her locker to change. Brittany lef the locker room and went straight home.
Santana hoped Slinky called back with some sold information.
###
Brittany looked at her watch again and debated calling Santana. She had gotten to the benefit about half an hour ago with Quinn, Tina and Puck and had hoped Santana would already be here. Brittany had gotten a text form Santana that said she was on her way. That was more than half an hour ago.
"She'll be here," Puck said, "Come on, let's go to the bar."
Brittany followed Puck through the sea of people. This benefit had been set up months ago to raise money to build low-income housing for single mothers and Judy had refused to cancel it despite the situation with her husband. Brittany thought it was funny how everyone knew what has going on and was dying to talk about it, but no one did. It was a gigantic dinosaur in the room full of rich people.
"She's probably waiting on her informant," Brittany said taking the Martini Puck was handing her, "I hope it turns out to be something because Santana will keep on with it until she finds something."
"You got yourself a stubborn one Britt," Puck said.
"I'm starting to see that," Brittany said.
###
Santana parked drove up to the valet at the front of the building where the benefit was being held. She handed her keys to the guy in the red jacket and went inside. She was already late. She had stalled as much as possible waiting on Slinky to call her back. He hadn't.
Santana was getting impatient. She stopped at the foyer and took out her phone. Before she could dial Slinky's number the phone rang.
"It's about fucking time!" Santana said as she moved to a corner so that she'd be away from anyone passing by and far away from the security check to enter the party.
"Sorry, sweet cheeks but this type of work takes time," Slinky said.
"What'd you find out?"
"You ready for this?" Slinky said.
"Spill it!"
"Well, word around the street is that some white dude was looking for someone to do a job and was willing to pay lots of Benjamins."
"A job?" Santana asked, "You mean like a robbery?"
"Bigger," Slinky said, "I'm talking JFK, Lincoln, Lennon kind of job."
"Wait, are you telling me there's a contract out on Judy Fabray?"
"Whoa, listen sister," Slinky said, "I didn't get no names. I just know that some white dude was over these parts a few times and he'd come have a drink in the bar. Always carrying a suitcase. You know this area, J Lo, ain't no white people come down here just for a drink."
"What did this guy look like?" Santana asked. She felt like her heart was racing. That's what this money was for. It was payment for whoever was hired to kill the mayor.
"Black and white hair," Slinky said, "Six feet, kinda stocky. Blue eyes."
Shit, Santana thought, That's Bronson.
"Listen to me Slinky," Santana said carefully, "Did anyone say when this would go down?"
"Girl," Slinky said, "I'm still getting paid right? I think this type of info deserves me a raise."
"You'll get your money," Santana said getting frustrated, "Now did you find out when?"
"Nah, no dates or anything," Slinky said, "Just something about women's rights or some shit."
"Fuck," Santana said softly and hung up.
Tonight. Bronson had set up for Judy Fabray to be killed tonight.
Quinn was supposed to die during the robbery but didn't. Bronson must have changed his plans and decided to target the mayor instead and would probably go after Quinn again later.
Santana ran into the reception area looking for Judy Fabray.
###
Brittany was about to take out her phone to call Santana when she saw her practically running into the reception area.
"Santana!" Brittany called out. She put her drink on the bar and went to meet her, "What's wrong?"
"Where's the mayor?" Santana asked, almost frantic.
"She's over there," Brittany said pointing to the far end of the room where the mayor was talking to a group of people, Quinn and Rachel by her side.
"What's with you?" Puck asked Santana as he joined the two women.
"I had my CI ask around in that bar and...it turns out Bronson put a contract out on the mayor."
"What?" both Brittany and Puck asked in surprise.
"That random money? It was a payment to have the mayor assassinated!" Santana said, careful not to let anyone else overhear.
"Oh shit!" Brittany said. She looked over at the mayor and caught Quinn looking at her. Quinn must have sense something was wrong because she soon made her way over to the group.
"Alert security," Santana told Puck, "And call Jerry. But tell him to keep this calm. We can't cause a panic. I'm going to look around to see if I see anything. I think it's happening tonight."
"On it!" Puck said as he left.
"What's going on?" Quinn asked once she reached Brittany and Santana.
Santana told Quinn what she had found out.
"Oh my God," Quinn said, fear all over her face, "I've got to get my mom out of here."
"Yes," Santana said, "Get her security to get her out of here. The benefit can go on without her. But don't have her announce she's leaving. Just have her excuse herself and not come back."
"OK yeah," Quinn said. She left and went back to her mother.
"What are we looking for?" Brittany asked, "A shooter? What?"
"I...," Santana began, "I have no fucking clue. Just, spread out and if you see anyone out of the ordinary keep an eye on them. Keep your phone near."
"Got it," Brittany said, "Be careful Santana."
"You too," Santana said.
They both set our looking for a possible assassin.
###
Within 15 minutes, Jerry had arrived with undercover officers to cover the benefit. Santana had told him everything her CI had said and while there was no concreate evidence there would be an attempt on Judy Fabray tonight, they weren't taking any chances.
The mayor had refused to leave. She had been informed of the possible threat and said that she wasn't going to disappoint the charity by not fulfilling her duties. Especially since no one was really sure there would even be an attempt on her life. Quinn had tried to convince her mother to leave the benefit, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. Even Rachel had tried to get the mayor to leave, but Judy wasn't listening.
About an hour later there was still no signs of anything out of the ordinary.
Santana and other officers had done a sweep of any possible hiding spots a shooter might hide and all was clear. She reunited with Brittany near the bar.
"Anything?" Santana asked.
"No, nothing," Brittany reported.
"Everyone here had to go through a metal detector and was searched," Brittany said, "The staff, guests, everyone. No way they could get a gun in here. Only cops. Wait, you don't think it's a cop do you?"
"No. I really doubt it!"
"Unless they're planning on using poison darts," Brittany joked, "Guests and staff couldn't get a gun in here."
Poison.
Santana's mind went into overdrive. Of course it wouldn't be a shooter. It'd cause too much attention. Especially with the whole threat on Quinn's life. The death of Judy Fabray would have to be quiet. Something that would make it look like an accident. The mayor had been under constant protection so it wasn't like someone could push her down the stairs. But here, at a benefit where food would be served, the mayor could easily have some sort of allergic reaction or eat something with a poison that would disappear from the blood stream before toxicology results returned.
"Brittany!" Santana said grabbing Brittany by both biceps, "You're a fucking genius!"
"Ouch! Santana my arm!" Brittany said, wincing.
"Oh fuck, sorry sweetie," Santana said, letting go of Brittany, "Sorry. But poison! Go to the mayor, tell her not to eat anything! I think they'll try to poison her plate."
"Poison?"
"Yes," Santana said starting to walk towards the kitchen, "Then find Jerry and tell him."
Brittany wanted to ask Santana more questions but she was already halfway to the kitchen. She scanned the room and spotted the mayor sitting at her assigned dinner table, Quinn, Rachel and about four undercover cops and Jerry, surrounding her. Two of those undercover cops were Jim and Quinten.
"Hey," Tina said catching up to Brittany, "I checked and everything seems normal."
"Come with me," Brittany said, "Santana doesn't think it's a shooter."
###
Santana opened the door into the bustling kitchen. It was chaos in there. Cooks, waiters, waitresses, and other staff were engrossed in their work trying to put the finishing touches on the food. Everyone was so busy, no one noticed her. She moved to the far corner where she spotted a cook's coat and put it on so her red top wouldn't attract attention. Luckily she had chosen to wear black slacks so she really could pass for the staff and was able to hide the gun she had holstered to her ankle. Ever since her first date with Brittany had ended with them trapped in her room without her weapon, she decided to carry one whenever she had to deal with any business or function involving the mayor.
"YOU!" a man yelled at Santana, "Don't just stand there, organize these appetizers."
"Oh, uh yeah," Santana said, walking over to the appetizers station, "On it!"
The kitchen door swung open and Jerry walked in and immediately locked eyes with Santana.
"Sir," the same man who had yelled at Santana addressed him, "I'm sorry but staff only back here. Was there a problem with the appetizers?"
"Uh, no," Jerry said, quickly catching on to what Santana was doing, "Everything's fine."
"Great," the man said.
"One question though," Jerry said, "You the person in charge here?"
The man nodded.
"All your staff here? All from you company?"
"Most are," the man said, "We had to hire a few temps form an agency because we were short but most are from my company."
"How many from the agency?" Jerry asked.
"Just two," the man said, "Or three. My company has jackets with my blue logo on them. The temps have jackets with a red logo."
Jerry looked at Santana and nodded. Santana looked down at the jacket she had taken and saw it had a red logo.
"Thanks," Jerry said.
Before he left, Santana saw Jerry look twords the back exit. Santana knew he would be positioning officers at all exits and would send in another undercover officer in here soon.
Santana looked at the red logo again and wondered what had happened to the temp who had been wearing this jacket. She looked around the kitchen as she pretended to organize crab-cakes and spotted the other two workers with the red logo busy preparing salads.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw a door open and a man with a neck tattoo go through a door that lead to what was possibly one of the storage rooms. Santana took our her phone and quickly sent a text to Jerry letting him know she may have spotted something.
Santana left her station and followed the man through the far door.
###
Brittany was getting worried. Santana hadn't come back from the kitchen and she was starting to wonder if Santana had been right and the assassin was part of the kitchen staff. When Brittany had told Jerry, he had gone to the kitchen to check and see if Santana needed any help. He had assigned Brittany to stay help guard the mayor.
She saw Jerry come back to the table with a unreadable look on his face.
"What's wrong?" Brittany asked.
"Santana is staying in the kitchen to keep an eyes on things," Jerry said quietly, "She's going to pass as a staff member just to make sure things are running smoothly."
"Is she OK?" Brittany asked.
"She's fine," Jerry said, "Just doing some undercover. But I do need officers covering all exits."
Jerry sent Jim and Quinten to organize the officers and place them at all the exits.
"Brittany you stay with Quinn and the mayor," he said, "Do not let her out of your sight."
"Jerry," the mayor finally spoke, "Is anyone else life in danger? If my being here will really put anyone life, other than my own, at risk, I'll leave."
"Should I call your car?" Rachel asked the mayor.
"Detective?" the mayor asked Jerry again.
"No ma'am," Jerry said, "It's just you they want. And if Santana is right, it'll be in the food. Your plate specifically."
"How would they know what plate is hers though?" Brittany asked, "There are hundreds of people here."
"Mom is lactose intolerant," Quinn said, "And she's allergic to coconut oil. Her plate would have to specially prepared."
Jerry's phone pinged.
"It's Santana," Jerry said, reading his text, "She thinks she found the guy."
###
Santana followed the guy through the door which wasn't a storage room at all but a hallway. She took out her phone and sent Jerry another text. She didn't want to call for fear the guy she was following would hear her. She heard a door in the far end close. She leaned down and lifted her pant leg to unsheathe her gun.
She quietly walked down the hall and soon reached a door that was slightly open. Through the crack she saw the tattooed man inside a storage room. He seemed to have put something in his pocket but Santana couldn't see what. Then he reached behind a few cans and took out a small black bag. He unzipped the bag and took out a syringe and a small bottle with clear liquid.
Santana kicked the door open.
"Stop right there!" Santana shouted at the man, "Drop the syringe and put your hands up!"
The tattooed man was startled. He dropped the syringe on the floor and grabbed a nearby can of peas and threw it at Santana. It was so quick, Santana didn't have time to react in time and the can hit her in the head. Momentarily disoriented the man pushed past Santana out the door.
Santana regained her focus and chased after him, "STOP!"
The tattooed man turned and reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. He fired once.
The bullet missed Santana and hit the wall beside her. She fired back. The bullet hitting him straight in the chest. The tattooed man still managed to lift his gun and point it at Santana. She fired again before he could shoot. Killing him.
Before she knew it Jerry and other officers stormed the hallway, guns in hand.
Santana slid to the floor, her head throbbing.
"Santana!"
Santana looked up and saw Brittany rush to her.
"Are you OK?" Brittany asked, her voice almost frantic, "Did he shoot you?"
"I'm OK," Santana said, "My head fucking hurts though."
"CALL AN AMBULANCE!" Brittany shouted at the officers. She felt like a vice was gripping her chest at thinking about Santana being hurt.
"Britt, I'm fine," Santana said bringing her head up to her head and feeling that a bump was already forming.
"Brittany!" Jerry called out, "I thought I told you to stay with the mayor!"
"Quinn, Puck and Tina are with her," Brittany said never taking her eyes off Santana, "The mayor was the one who sent me to find out what what happening."
Brittany didn't hear Jerry say anything else.
"You scared me," Brittany told Santana.
"I'm sorry," Santana said smiling, "Figured I'd get you back for scaring me twice."
Brittany gave her a weak smile.
"Guess what?" Santana asked.
"What?"
"I got to kick a door open," Santana joked, "One more door and we're even."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Brittany laughed.
-tbc-