A/N: Please note that there is the use of foul language ahead, if you do not want to read, this is your chance to click away.

I have realized that I have failed to give background to this fic. Well here goes: it's set in season 3, before the episode "Lassie Did a Bad Bad Thing." I have taken the game "Cinco Reyes" from that episode and turned it into a drug gang for this fic.

Now that you know more about the background.. I give you:

Chapter 3: Fooled Again

Shawn tugged at the bulletproof vest he was forced to wear. Gus rolled his eyes at his best friend's actions and slapped his hand away from the vest. "Stop messing with it, Shawn," he whispered.

He lowered his hand in shame and focused on where the group was going. "It's very uncomfortable, okay. It's too tight," Shawn explained when the group stopped before opening the main door to the laundromat.

"Well, if you want it to protect you from bullets, it has to be tight," Gus reminded him.

The pair stayed back outside the laundromat until they were cleared to enter. They heard a faint "Clear!" from inside and followed the officers inside.

Lassiter turned to the two of them as they walked in. "Alright, Spencer. Where's the lab?" He asked as he turned to face them.

Shawn glanced to the backdoor for a second before quickly shutting his eyes and raising his hand to his head. "I see it! The lab. It's in a basement. And it's," he paused just slightly for a dramatic effect before shooting his eyes open and pointing at the door in the back. "It's behind that door!" he exclaimed suddenly.

Juliet turned to her partner and nodded her head. She readied her gun and reached for the door handle. "On the count of three," she suggested to him. He simply nodded his head in understanding as he readied his gun as well. "One," she said slowly. "Two," she tightened her grip on the door handle. "Three!" She yelled as she turned the door handle and pushed it open.

"Santa Barbara Police Department! Freeze!" Lassiter yelled as he entered the room, carefully going down the few steps that led to a concrete floor. He lowered his gun slightly as he glanced around the room. It was empty. Not a person in sight. The only thing occupying the room was a fold up table, with nothing on top of it. He completely lowered his gun to his side and turned on his heels to leave the room. Three times. Three times they've tried to make a bust, only to come up empty handed. He stomped up the steps, holstering his gun. "It's clear," he swore to his partner who was waiting for his call.

She lowered her weapon as well and kicked at the floor. "You've got to be kidding," she muttered to herself.

Lassiter made his way past the officers standing there, dumbfounded. He walked up to Shawn and poked him in the chest. "Good job, Psychic" he hissed at the shorter man.

Shawn's jaw fell slack at the sudden force Lassiter was using, and the change of tone in his voice. He raised his hands in defense as he took a step back from Lassiter. "Look, Lassie. I'm telling you. I saw it clear as day," he assured him as he put his hand back to his head. "Playboy entered that room and there was four other men working on something on that table."

Lassiter felt his hands curl into fists at his side as Shawn continued explaining his vision. "I heard you the first time, and I'm telling you that it wasn't good enough," he shot back.

Shawn felt his heart speed up. He'd never truly ever been afraid of Lassiter until this moment. He couldn't even recall seeing him so mad either. He allowed his fear to show on his face as his eyes widened when he took another step back, trying to put as much distance between himself and the detective as possible. He felt his body relax as someone caught Lassiter's attention.

"Detective Lassiter!" The Chief yelled sternly. Lassiter quickly turned himself away from Shawn and let his hands unfold. "Perhaps you should step outside," she suggested, but from the tone of her voice it was clear she was demanding it. Lassiter nodded his head at the order and led himself to the exit.

Shawn let out a sigh of relief when the detective walked away. He turned himself to Gus and furrowed his eyebrows. "Really man?" He muttered to his friend. "Were you planning on stepping in anytime soon? Lassie was ready to beat the shit out of me!"

Gus looked shocked that Shawn would make such an accusation. "First of all, I was ready to put myself between you and him if he took another step closer. And second of all, I don't believe Lassiter has it in him to hurt you intentionally. Especially now that you two are dating," he calmly explained to Shawn, and was relieved to see that he calmed down.

"Who's dating now?" Juliet asked curiously as she approached the two of them at the end of their conversation.

Shawn felt himself freeze in his step, not even daring to breath, afraid his secret was out. He knew Lassiter would be even more pissed if he found out he let if slip to Jules that the two of them were dating.

She looked at Shawn with a raised eyebrow at his reaction. "You know Shawn, if you got a new girlfriend, it's okay. We're just friends," she said in an attempt to relax him.

He nodded his head slowly and decided to roll with it. "Y-Yeah," he stuttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. He felt like he was betraying Lassiter for saying he has a girlfriend, but he figured it was better than letting the truth out too soon. "Yeah, I've got a new girlfriend now," he told her sheepishly.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Shawn," she assured him with a smile. "Sorry, but I have to go find Lassiter now. We've got tons of paperwork to do."

The two watched as Juliet left, surprisingly happy considering what just happened. "She seems unusually joyful, right?" Gus asked.

"Yeah. It's very strange," Shawn agreed with his friend. "And better yet, she thinks I have a girlfriend. Can you believe it?"

Gus was very confused by Shawn's change of attitude. One moment he felt bad for not telling Juliet he was in a relationship, but the second she knows, he feels just as bad. "Shawn, aren't you just glad she doesn't know who you're actually dating?"

"I don't know. I guess so. I'm just afraid she's going to mention it to Lassie and he's going to get even more upset," he confessed as he stared down at the floor.

"How about you cross that bridge when you get to it, but for now we head back to the station. Juliet and Lassiter just left," Gus suggested as he watched the two detectives climb into Lassiter's car and drive off.

Shawn turned his head to the window Gus was looking out of and just barely managed to watch the car drive out of view. "That's probably a good idea," he acknowledged his friend's idea. "And besides, I think I'm starting to understand why we're always one step behind the Cinco Reyes."

"For the last time, Spencer. The answer is no. It's just impossible. There's no way in hell that would be the case," Lassiter told Shawn sternly. He had managed to cool himself down enough on the drive back to the station that he allowed himself to hear Shawn's latest theory.

"But Lassie, just think about it," Shawn insisted as he dangled his feet off the edge of Lassiter's desk. "Why do you think we're always minutes behind the Cinco Reyes. There's no way those gang members would be able to know we're onto them unless someone tipped them off!"

Lassiter rubbed his temples as he processed what Shawn was telling him. "Listen, Shawn," he leaned forward slightly to say his name just loud enough for Shawn to hear it. "I know this police department inside and out. There's no way it's an inside job."

The two men both felt themselves jump as someone unexpectedly made their presence known. "Sorry to interrupt, Sir," he said simply and straight to the point as he handed Lassiter a case file. "The Chief wants you to write the report on what happened today right away."

Lassiter grabbed the file from the younger detective and nodded him off. "Will do. Thanks, Davidson," he said before he dropped the file down next to where Shawn was sitting and groaned. "Shawn, I'm sorry, but it's just not possible. Now if you'll excuse me I now have loads of paperwork I have to complete before I can even think about leaving."

Shawn frowned before looking back up with a smile. "You're still coming over tonight though, right?" He clarified with the detective.

Lassiter reached forward, grabbed the file, and flipped through it. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be able to make it. And besides, I still need time to calm down after the failed bust," he explained simply for Shawn.

Shawn sighed and lowered himself off the desk before turning to where Gus was waiting for him. "See you tomorrow, Detective Lassiter," he murmured as he walked away.

"What was that all about?" Gus questioned as his friend joined up with him and they made their way towards the exit.

Shawn huffed and recalled simply what just happened. "I got blown off, Gus."

"Ouch, sorry buddy," Gus tried sympathizing with his best friend. "How about smoothies?"

Shawn contemplated the offer before turning it down. "You know, I'd actually rather just go to sleep. I'm pretty tired," he said as he faked a yawn, trying to be more convincing.

Gus looked at Shawn weirdly. Something truly had to be wrong for Shawn to turn down any type of food, or beverage. "Okay, whatever you say," he said as he agreed nonetheless to drive his friend straight home.

Shawn waved Gus goodbye before he stepped into his apartment and flipped the light on. He slid his shoes off and left them by the door before stretching his arms out and actually yawning. He was actually pretty tired after the way events unfolded today. He shuffled down the hall, attempting not to bump into any walls in his half sleep state.

Somehow he managed to make his way into his bedroom in one piece without breaking anything in the hallway. He freed himself from his jeans and left them in the middle of his floor where he'd taken them off. Without a second thought, he jumped into his bed and shifted to get comfortable. Although he was upset that his boyfriend wasn't sharing the bed like he was supposed too, he still managed to fall asleep almost the second his head his his pillow.

Shawn wasn't aware how long he'd been asleep for, but all he was aware of was the sudden crash that came from his living room. His eyes shot open as he tried to replay the sound in his head, looking for any clues as to what it could've been. After a few moments of intense concentration yielding no results, he sat up in his bed.

There wasn't a single sound that came after the first crash, and Shawn wasn't sure if he should be afraid or glad of that fact. Unaware of what to do, let alone think, he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and dialed the first number that came to his mind.

Shawn, it's four o'clock in the morning. What could you possibly need at this hour? Lassier grumbled into the phone after he answered the call.

Shawn allowed himself to calm down, knowing that Lassiter was there with him, even if not in person. He slowly pushed himself out of his bed and began approaching his door, which was cracked open. He felt his heart race again at the sight, knowing he always makes sure to shut his door completely every night. Even last night when he was dead tired.

On the other end of the phone Lassiter got worried quick when Shawn didn't reply. He wasn't the type of person to call in the middle of the night without reason. Shawn, what is it? What's wrong? He asked frantically yet calm at the same time as his worry grew with every passing second Shawn didn't say anything.

Lassiter's voice was enough to knock Shawn out of the fear that was starting to build up. "Lassie?" He questioned, even though he knew that's who he was on the phone with.

Shawn, you're scaring me. What is it? He asked once again of Shawn as he himself jumped out of bed, grabbed his car keys and gun off his nightstand, and got ready to haul ass to Shawn's apartment need be.

Shawn slowly pulled his bedroom door open the remainder of the way and took a few steps into the hallway. He held his phone tight as he peered down the length of the wall into his living room. "I-I think someone's in my living room," Shawn suddenly clarified for Lassiter.

At this point Lassiter was already out his front door and approaching his car when those words came out of Shawn's mouth. Do not go into the living room, and do not hang up on me, you understand, Shawn? I'm on my way over right now, and I need you to stay in your bedroom.

Although Shawn nodded his head at Lassiter's order, he blatantly ignored it as he stepped into the room. He wasn't even aware he had gasped until he heard Lassiter's frantic calling of his name coming from his phone when he dropped it to the floor. He watched as his front door was pulled shut, from the outside, revealing two words painted onto the inside of it. "Back Off".