An hour and a half (and another unsuccessful interview) later, Flynn knocks on Sharon's door, letting himself into her office quietly as he waits for her to wrap up a phone call. Rounding her desk, Andy busies himself with shutting the blinds, coming up behind Sharon discreetly and taking her tense shoulders in his hands, kneading them gently. Rolling her shoulders back into his hands appreciatively, Sharon glances quickly towards the blinds, surprised and relieved to find them shut. Smiling tightly at Andy, she ends her call curtly, flicking her phone onto her desk with a snap.
"I thought we might go to lunch together, since dinner was out of the question last night," proposes Andy quietly.
"I can't, Andy. I've got a ton of paperwork to do before we try to find some fresh leads," replies Sharon, the strain evident in her voice. At the same moment that she finishes her sentence, her stomach gives an audible growl. Wincing slightly, Sharon turns to Andy apologetically, finding him attempting to stifle a chuckle.
"Well then, allow me to bring you something, instead," concedes Andy, knowing how tight her workload makes her days, "what would you like?"
"Surprise me," she smiles, only half-surprised at how spontaneous she's become around him recently. Behaving this way with him is just so…natural. Being with Andy requires so little thought and feels so right that she's only ever surprised when she does something particularly outrageous by her standards.
Grinning, Andy lifts his hands from Sharon's shoulders to give a mock salute, flicking open one set of blinds as he leaves her office.
Half an hour later, Andy returns to the murder room laden with plastic bags. Tossing a few of the bags to Julio – who catches them deftly – Andy proceeds to Sharon's office, knocking lightly on her door before entering. As she motions him in, he reaches into his bag and pulls out two bottles of sparkling water and a sandwich each, giving her the selection of wholemeal with cucumber, avocado and feta or halloumi and tomato on rye. Smiling at the fact that Andy already has her two usual sandwich orders down, Sharon accepts the wholemeal sandwich, praising Andy for his good taste.
Sitting opposite Sharon, Andy tucks into his sandwich and they enjoy their lunches in companionable silence, the sound of chewing and the occasional scribble from Sharon's pen the only noises discernible in the office. Every now and then, Sharon glances upwards, only to see Andy observing her, a fond smile on his face.
Finishing their lunch together, Sharon waves Andy out of the office teasingly – she has more work to do, and she has a hunch she'd like to pursue before asking the team to investigate. Knowing the look in her eye, Andy doesn't need to be told twice, and leaves with a small smile.
As he enters the murder room, Andy is accosted by Provenza, who looks rather tight lipped about something. Rolling his eyes good naturedly, Andy wonders what's gotten Provenza's pants in a knot this time.
"So, when did you decide that you're too good to eat with us?" asks Provenza moodily.
"About the same time you became so possessive," retorts Flynn with a smirk, "I had enough of that from my ex-wives!"
Muttering under his breath, Provenza flicks Andy's arm, irritated with his usual smart-ass behaviour. "And I suppose you didn't decide to play dress up with the Captain this morning?" he prods, coughing obviously before glancing in the direction of Sharon's office (mercifully, her blinds are drawn).
"It was a coincidence," shrugs Andy passively, "You know I'm not really the type to colour coordinate."
"Maybe you are, with her," remarks Provenza slyly.
"Nah, there's no with her about it. It was just a happy accident that I happened to be wearing the same colours as her this morning."
"And happened to turn up at the same time?" asks Provenza, mock-innocently. "Gosh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you two've had a lot of happy accidents lately."
At this, Andy refuses to allow himself to blush, knowing that Provenza would have him sussed instantly if he does. Instead, he shrugs lightly, attempting nonchalance with as much dignity as he can muster. "Who says you know anything at all, old man?" he retorts as calmly as possible.
"Oh, I may not be as young as I used to be Flynn, but I've still got eyes – and I can damn well see what's happening here!"
"Well then, use 'em now, 'cos the Captain's been signalling to you for about five minutes, genius."
Huffing a sigh, Provenza turns on his heel to meet the Captain, irritated by the fact that Flynn had been right – Sharon had been motioning to see him for a while and she did not look happy about it.
It's three in the afternoon when Sharon finally catches a break with her hunch. She stands in her office, slipping her cuffs under her blouse, tucked into the black skinny jeans she'd had to requisition from her daughter's reserve of clothes at her apartment.
"I don't like this Sharon," states Andy with irritation, concern touching his features.
"What don't you like?" asks Sharon wearily – they'd had this discussion in the murder room moments before.
"That you're going in as bait," he fires back pointedly, "without a vest, no less."
"I'm a trained and qualified officer, Andy. I can do this."
"I don't doubt that, and this isn't from some place of chauvinism – I just, I don't want you to get hurt."
Rolling her eyes, Sharon grits her teeth, nodding sharply at Andy's admission. It's not like she wants to get injured either, but a vest would be a dead giveaway, and she needs to be as inconspicuous as possible to lure the suspect. Andy's face takes on an apologetic expression as he shrugs repentantly – he knows that she's not trying to play the hero.
"It's necessary for me to go without a vest – as you very well know."
"I do know – but that doesn't mean that I have to like it."
Sighing sharply, Sharon concedes to his point. While she appreciates how hard this must be for him, it's also one of the reasons she'd never considered dating a co-worker. Gazing at him intently, she murmurs, "I'll be fine."
Sanchez interrupts Sharon's preparations, informing her that the squad is ready to roll out when she is. Nodding calmly, Captain Raydor takes her place, instructing Sanchez to ready the vehicles for their departure.
Half an hour later, Captain Raydor slinks into a dingy bar, clad in clothes sure to rouse attention from the male patrons of the establishment. After all, that is the point of her going in as bait – to attract the attention of one particular person in the bar. Sliding into a stool, she orders herself a drink and pretends to sip it as she surveys the rest of the bar's patrons. Spotting their suspect, Raydor leans across the bar, crossing her legs flirtatiously so that they can be fully admired in her tight jeans. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, Captain Raydor waits for the other bartender to notice her.
Shifting subtly towards her, the suspect flashes her a charming smile before asking , "what'll it be?" He glances down at her full glass and surmises that she's not after a drink, after all.
"Nothing, now," she replies silkily, sliding her badge out from the waistband of her jeans as she identifies herself as an officer of the law.
A look of sheer panic crosses his face, and before she can finish mirandizing him, he pulls a gun from a holster on his ankle, causing Sharon to call in for backup whilst attempting to placate him. He takes aim directly at Sharon as she attempts to talk him into putting down his firearm.
Behind her, Sharon hears Andy step quietly behind her, murmuring a quick "I've got this," to her.
"Put the gun down, Samuel. Just put it down and we can talk," calls Andy, attempting to reassure him of his safety while his – girlfriend? Lover? – has a gun pointed at her forehead.
"Why should I? I'm free right now – if I give myself up, that's it."
"We could offer you a deal, Samuel. After all, you were just an accomplice, right?" coaxes Andy.
"Nah man, I don't want a fucking deal. I want to get out of here," his eyes shift nervously around the bar, settling on a nearby co-worker. Grabbing him roughly by the collar and dragging him into his body, Samuel grinds the gun's barrel into his captive's temple. "And you're going to let me do that."
Backing out of the doorway that leads to the kitchen and the bar's rear entrance, Samuel ensures that he is constantly facing the officers before shoving his hostage to the ground and fleeing.
Relieved from the gun's aim, Sharon immediately sets off in pursuit, with Andy and Sanchez close at her heels.
Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter - I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave a review :) I'd also like to thank those I'm unable to via PM - Maggles and Deb57: I really appreciate the feedback!