Underground

After Season 2 AU.

Prologue

Just what I need today. Hondo thinks to himself and contemplates just going back on vacation. Hicks was in meetings all day, trying to fight the appointment of Lynch to SWAT. But it didn't look good. And having that woman here meant for sure Jessica Cortez wasn't coming back. And it oddly hurt.

Yes, they weren't involved anymore, and it was probably for the best. For both of them, but still, he always thought she was going places within LAPD. And right now, he has no idea where she is even at.

He'd seen her lawyer boyfriend in town a few days back with another woman, so that was over too.

But that wasn't the biggest problem right now. No, that had come with Street and Tan telling him about the locked prints they ran. Now the FBI essentially had descended on the situation room and cleared it of any SWAT personnel. For now.

"Did they indicate what their case is about?" Deac steps to him. "Not yet," Hondo grits out and then one of the agents waves them over. "But maybe we'll get some answers now."

The two sergeants step over and then wait with crossed arms for the agent to finally fill them in.

"Tell me again how you found those prints! How did the raid come together?" the man demands and Hondo and Deac share a look.

"It's been in the works for a while. The warehouse is a known gang hideout, and intel suggested MS13 was using it as a stash house," Deac explains in a calm voice, "I can get the officers making entry to brief you on their approach," he waves for Street and Tan to get in there too.

"Interesting," the agent notes and clicks through his tablet. "You two, run my agents through your material," he addresses Tan and Street and then walks away with them.

Hondo shakes his head.

"Let's wait what they tell us after. They are rather observant if they want to be," Deac pats Hondo's shoulder.

"Hopefully. Do you know when Chris will be back?" Hondo changes the subject. "No, Hicks didn't say. But probably any day now too. We can ask when he is back. Or you ask Lynch." Deac replies and furrows his brows.

Chris had requested leave out of the blue about two weeks ago and Hicks had cleared that without a second thought. Any attempt of contacting the young woman though had failed since.

Deac had to admit he was very worried. He pulls out his phone and texts her one more time, offering an open ear if she needed it.

About two hours later Street and Tan finally get released from FBI questioning, and they join Deac, Hondo and Luca in the kitchen. "And? What are they doing here?" Luca asks the question on everyone's mind.

"No clue, but they aren't interested in MS13, they have been dropping VX3 intermittently," Tan grabs a water out of the fridge.

"And they are staying mum on whose prints we found there," Street huffs out, "I mean it's clear its either informant or undercover. There wouldn't be any other reason to hide their identity, but they should read us in."

"Patience, they seem to need something from us, or they wouldn't set up here." Deac tries to calm them down. "Let's just wait until Hicks is back and sort this mess out."

"Or we could let Lynch annoy them into telling us more?" Street quips and then shrugs his shoulders when the other glare at him. "What? She somehow made it here and has an office…" he trails off when Hondo lifts his hand.

Hicks had just walked into kitchen. "Hondo, Deacon. My office," the short tone in the order couldn't fully hide that the commander was worried about something. He shares a look with Deac and together they climb the stairs in confused silence.

In Hicks's office they are met with the two FBI agents from before and the curious addition of Agent Benson. Hondo can't help but frown seeing the woman again, but suddenly something in his brain clicks.

"This is about Cortez, isn't it?" he blurts out before he can stop himself.

"We can't be sure," one of the men cuts in and finally even the calm and collected Deacon has enough.

"You know you could introduce yourselves and read us in. We can help. We've been sitting on that warehouse for a while…"

The agent scoffs but goes for short introductions anyway. "If it helps, I am Marks, this is Spencer and for now we can't be sure Cortez was here. She was supposed to be in Texas but went off the wire about a week ago. Even after we told her we'd be tracking Alonso," he sounds angry.

Hondo has a million questions, and his head turns to Hicks. The older man nods. So, he knew why Chris was gone.

"That leave request…" Deacon breathes out next to him. "Wasn't really leave. She did great work in Mexico, and we knew she has a shorthand with Cortez. It was a perfect plan," Benson cuts in.

"But something went wrong?" Hondo can't help the bite in his tone. "You lost both of them?"

"Let's all take a seat," Hicks all but orders them with a wave and then continues, "and then the agents can fill us in and then we can make a plan."

The three FBI agents share a look and only after Benson nods subtly, the one introduced as Spencer starts talking.

"Three months ago, we got lucky and had an in with a group of VX3 that somehow had set up shop in a little border town in Texas. Cortez went in, but it became clear quickly the guys needed younger blood. Cortez worked the bar, but to get closer we needed bait. Agent Benson suggested reaching out to Officer Alonso, who graciously agreed to come out and help us,"

Finally, he clicks on the keyboard and the screen behind Hicks shows the two cover personas for Cortez and Chris. Jessica and Cristina.

Hondo does a mental double take. "You didn't seriously send them in with their names?" he grits out.

"We had little choice there. The UC spot Cortez took was named Jessica in the setup, and Chris came from Marks before he knew Alonso's name," Benson explains in a calm voice and then takes over.

"They worked their way into the organization and Alonso had the chance to go on a trip with one of the enforcers. She was wearing a tracking device in a bracelet. And that's how we knew where to find her, at all times."