The next day, Luca pulls into his favorite spot, happy that maybe Isa will show. Then he turns to his left and sees Deacon, who parked right beside him
"Morning" Deacon greets "a little early aren't we?"
"Yeah" Luca says "Why are you here so early Deac?"
"Same as you" Deacon replies knowingly, the two looks at one another before turning to the tree. The wind blows and the leaves rustle, but there is no girl waving at them
"Shove off!" They hear a boy yell. The two look towards the streets. In front of the gate they spot Isa being harassed by five rich kids, led by Mitchel.
Each boy has fair skin and seems to be relatively the same age. Some have brown hair, others have blonde or red hair. All of them are definitely older and stronger than Isa. Deacon and Luca are about to go over, when Deacon stops both himself and Luca
"Hold on, might be better to let her deal with it" He says "step in only if we have to" Luca nods, familiar with the rules of the streets. Mitchel goes over to Isa
"Isaac the Idiot!" He starts to say and the boys pick up
"Isaac the Idiot! His dad the ass! His mom the slut! Where you find Issac, you find the freak show!" They shout, Isa doesn't respond
"Get off the road, Freak!" A boy says, shoving her. He stands taller than Isa, he has brown eyes with brown hair. It is clear that he is one of the oldest in the group. Though his shove was harsh, Isa doesn't budge
"You do not own the road, Thomas!" She says, voice firm and showing no sign of fear
"You do not own the road" Thomas mimics in a patronizing voice "talk normal, you freak!" The boys laugh, Isa looks at them
"Look at the poor freak! Living in and smelling like shit. I bet I have more money in my pocket than you've held in your hand!" Mitchel says, they laugh "go back to the shit hole you came from" another boy, with red hair and brown eyes, jumps on Isa
"Get off, Graham!" She yells, getting into a small fight. Graham starts to punch her, so Isa uses her legs to kick him in the chest. He flies off and lands into Mitchel. The two fall to the ground making the group of boys laugh
"Shut up!" Mitchel yells, the boys obey, afraid of him "you shouldn't have done that Freak! Mess with the Council, means messing with hell!" Isa takes off, sprinting, Mitchel runs and is able to grab her shirt, which rips it. He swings the shirt down which knocks her to the ground. Mitchel kicks her in the face to stop Isa from running
"You want to know what Mama says about runts like you?" He asks "there is a reason why farmers kill the piglet runts. Your folks should've slaughtered you!" Isa stands, eyes hardening, and shoves Mitchel to the ground
"Want to fight?" Graham asks her, punching his left fist in his hand. The boys look at her savagely
"Do you? Looks like you have some nice clothes on. What will your mama say when you come back muddy and red?" That stops all of the boys, all wearing school uniforms.
The shirts are a beige color with a red line tracing out the bottom and making a triangle around the hole for their heads. Their pants are a newly pressed black with black military boots. All their outfits are crisp, suggesting that they are new
"Let the Freak go Mitch" Thomas says "Mama got mad when she saw red on my old one. Had to call it ketchup" Mitchel thinks it over
"Come on, Mitchel!" Graham says "we have that school trip, remember? To the amusement park, it's going to be better than stinking shit with the Freak!"
"Let's get out of here" Mitchel orders, the boys nod "do us a favor and jump off a bridge, Freak! Nobody wants you, not even your folks!" The boys run away, but not before chanting
"Isaac the Idiot! His dad the ass! His mom the slut! Where you find Issac, you find the freak show!" Pretending not to hear them, Isa looks at her shirt. The once worn navy tank is now ripped so bad that it is not worth wearing. Isa sighs, tucking it in nonetheless. She then sees Deacon and Luca, checking that the coast is clear, Isa heads over
"Hey Isa" Luca says "you ok" she shrugs, Deacon gently takes her face. Isa pulls away and pushes his hand away
"It's ok, I just want to see it" Deacon assures, using a voice that is normally reserved for his kids. Hearing his kind tone makes Isa nod slowly, Deacon gently examines the slash down the left side of her face. It is an ugly cut, starting at her left upper brow and ending at the jaw. Dirt and mud has seeped in thanks to Mitchel's boot "you need stitches I think. Let's go into HQ"
"I am unable to pay you back" she argues
"Don't have to, it is free to us as well" Luca says "whenever I get banged up, I go to first aid and they patch me up"
"Will I need to pay?" She asks, they shake their heads "are you sure? I am not a cop?"
"Friends of cops are just as good" Deacon replies calmly "and you want to be one some day, right?"
"Yes sir" she answers
"Then let's go check out the first aid" Luca adds, Isa looks at the ground, embarrassed. Deacon and Luca gently place their hands on Isa's shoulders before guiding her inside.
The first aid is just beyond the interrogation rooms. It is a small office that resembles nurse's office at schools. There is a small bed in the center of the back wall. Wooden cabinets hold supplies while being bolted to both sides of the room. Under them is a counter with more storage in their cabinets. A man is typing something on a computer before noticing Deacon and Luca entering.
"Hey Luca" he greets "morning Deacon" then he notices the child between them. Her eyes stay locked on to anything that could be interesting on the ground "hey little one"
"Hey Sam. Meet our new friend, Isa, can you see what you can do for her?" Luca asks. Sam motions for Isa to sit on a chair, which she obeys
"Nice to meet you Isa" he says "let's see what we got here" he is about to touch her face, to which Isa flinches
"It's alright, Isa" Deacon assures "Sam is our friend, and he needs to see the cut to be able to help" she doesn't acknowledge his words, but allows Sam to examine the cut
"Ok, this is definitely not a knee scrape" he says "this will need a few stitches, now how did a young one like you get such a nasty cut?"
"Fell, sir" she replies, not wanting to say she lost a fight, but not wanting to lie either. Sam nods, as he prepares a needle and thread
"I am going to numb it alright?" He says, Isa shakes her head
"No thank you sir. I do not like the feeling of being numb" Isa explains
"This might hurt Isa" Deacon says
"No" she repeats, then goes a bit red "no... no thank you, sir" Sam sighs before cleaning the wound and stitching it. Isa doesn't flinch, eyes still casted to the ground
"Alright, take it easy for awhile. Whatever you are planning to do today, I would second guess it" Sam says "good job on being brave. Adults I know still have issues with stitches" he eyes Luca
"I don't like needles" Luca says pretending to be offended
"I know" Sam says laughing
"Thanks again, Sam" Deacon says as Isa goes over to them
"Thank you, sir" she says. Sam waves as they walk out. Now they take her to the kitchen. She looks around, her eyes softening in awe
"Wow" Isa says "this is huge"
"Needs to be in order to feed all of LAPD" Luca says "Want a sandwich?" she shakes her head
"Did you eat?" Deacon asks
"Depends on what you mean" she replies
"When did you last eat" Deacon rephrases
"Yesterday" she answers
"Where did you get something?" Luca asks
"Out back by a place you can go to eat. The cook gave me left overs in exchange for cleaning up this huge mess" she says proudly
"I see, what happened? A flood?" Deacon asks
"A bunch of tables were flipped over and food was everywhere, customers were talking about some police chase" the two men eye each other
"Isa, remember our deal?" Luca asks, she nods "still up for that?"
"It is ok, Dom, I can take care of-" she looks behind them. Luca turns and sees Chris
"Hey Chris, meet Isa" Luca says, she comes over "Isa, this is Chris"
"Short for Christina Alonso" she recites, Chris smiles as she nods
"Hey Isa" she greets "enjoying HQ" Isa nods
"Are you friends with Dom and Deacon?" She asks
"I am, I am friends with everyone on SWAT" Chris says "can we be friends, Isa?"
"Yes, I would like that" Isa shakes Chris' hand "I have to go, Dom, got work to do"
"What work is that?" Deacon asks
"Unloading boxes at a dock" the three now look at one another
"Where do you get the job?" Chris asks
"Comes about once a month, I get lunch in exchange for unloading boxes" Isa looks at their faces "something wrong?"
"No" Deacon answers quickly "just nice to see a young one working that's all" they lead her out of HQ. Back at the parking lot Luca asks
"Will we see you later Isa?" Looking down and finding her gone. He looks back up to see Mitchel looking at them
"You're friends with the Freak?" He asks
"Why aren't you in school?" Luca asks
"I forgot my lunch, besides, maybe the Freak would still be here" he retorts
"Just keep walking" Chris says shortly
"Learn now" he warns "Isaac is a savage, should've died when he was born" Mitchel leaves, chanting "Isaac the Idiot! His dad the ass! His mom the slut! Where you find Issac, you find the freak show!" Luca is left fuming
"Words are just words, Luca" Deacon says "Isa doesn't let them bother her, so neither should we" they head back inside and are met by Hondo
"A first aid guy just told me you brought in a child for stitches. Did you find her, or did you find another one?" He asks half joking
"We found her, some boys beat her up, but she is ok now" Luca says, Hondo nods "Isa said she is unloading boxes today, off a dock" now Hondo looks at Luca carefully
"Hope she picks the right boat" he says, the three nod. Now they head into command where Street and Tan are waiting
"Bronzer admitted last night that he is the head seller in LA, his boss is a girl name Becky Morse. Hicks already approved, let's roll"
The team enters a luxurious house, the white body and black roof. They go in to see a spiral stair case that goes to the second and third floor. They are about to split when they see Becky to the right, in the living room. The room is spacious and is easily bigger than a small house. Becky sits on a grey sofa, watching a beauty pageant. Pretending to not notice the group, she slurps some cereal.
"LAPD SWAT, do not move" Deacon says, pointing a gun at her
"Hey there" she greets, turning to look at them "at least they sent hot policemen"
"Becky Morse, you are under arrest for aiding in smuggling and selling" Hondo says
"Just put the cuffs on" Becky says "the shipment is already out" the group sighs frustrated.
"Search this place" Hondo commands and Tan and Chris leave. He then cuffs Becky "guess you will visit our house, Becky"
Back at HQ, the team comes up empty other than Becky. Deacon and Hondo enter interrogation
"Hello Becky" Hondo greets, walking in "enjoy the ride?"
"The view could've been better" she answers, almost bored
"Nothing we can do about that" Hondo replies "why don't we talk about this shipment?"
"Not getting anything out of this, nor am I going to jail" she says cockily
"What makes you think that way?" He asks
"Have you seen my bank account?" She replies "money won't be an issue"
"You're under investigation" Deacon says "so all accounts tied to your name are frozen"
"You don't think I have friends? They got more money than me" she huffs
"So you don't care about the kids who are dying?" Hondo says
"They pay, their choice"
"And are they aware of the risks, no label on the bottle. Makes it ilegal" Hondo explains, that makes Becky pause before saying
"I want a lawyer, now" frustrated, Hondo and Deacon leave interrogation, and go to the team
"Hondo!" Hicks calls from command with the group "there is another shipment coming to June Loading Dock, boat is also called St. Sandler!"
"More pills" Hondo says
"Signed the warrant, go!" The group nods and race to the dock. On the way, all Luca can think about is if Isa will be there.
"Luca?" Deacon asks, knowing what he is thinking "if she is one of them, Isa can easily be released for not knowing"
"She is unloading boxes?" Tan asks
"On a dock" Chris adds, the group goes silent in understanding
"This dock is 20 minutes away by car. Probably an hour walk" Hondo reasons "let's not focus on Isa right now, alright? I'm sure she will be ok" at the dock there are four boats parked. The team goes over to the St. Sandler. All the workers look at them and freeze
"Everyone! Hands up!" Hondo shouts, the workers comply, but a suspect runs for the exit. Tan and Street begin the chase. Meanwhile, the rest of team cuts open one of the boxes, sure enough they find the pills with the roses stamped cases
"This is a chain" Deacon comments "same boat means it is probably owned by the same person"
"Hondo!" Street shouts, Tan and him hold the suspect between them "there are more boats with this stuff. Mr. Suspect says there are three in total"
"You realize that means there is only one that is legit?" He asks, Street nods "20-David to Command, suspect released new intel that there are three boats carrying the pills"
"Proceed to look, if the owners don't let you, then wait. I'll send a warrant when I have one and others to take on the task" Hicks radios, Hondo nods. He goes over to the suspect
"Why don't you tell me how you know so much?" Hondo says
"Making quick cash" the man says "the harder you work, the more you know. The info didn't come willingly"
"The list fell out of pocket" Tan says, holding it up "meet the two other carriers at June Loading Dock"
"And the rest kind of tumbled out isn't that right?" Street finishes, looking at the guy
"Patrol will pick him up, you two stay until then" Hondo instructs, Tan and Street nod as they take him away. Luca looks around and sees a torn navy tank at the next dock over
"Hondo" Luca says
"Yeah?" He asks
"I think I've spotted Isa" Luca says, the team turns and sees Isa carrying out two boxes and placing them on to a dock. The name of the boat is The Orange
"Keep it professional" Hondo says as they head over to Isa, but she doesn't notice, back turned. That's when they see scars on her back, a mutilated back. The color was a mix of red, black, and blue which radiated pain just by seeing it. The sight makes Luca want to vomit
"Young one!" A man shouts from the boat dock, she looks up "got a couple more up here" she runs up to the deck and takes two more from the pile
"Hold it for a moment" Hondo says "we would like to check this boat's cargo" the old man smiles and Isa looks at the team, but acts as if she has never seen them. The old man looks at the SWAT team. He sits on a create, holding a cane with both hands. He wears red pants with a white shirt and green jacket. He has a short Captain beard and short white cropped hair
"Of course Officers, got nothing to hide" he replies
"Hello" Isa greets, placing the two boxes she was holding on the ground. Deacon takes a knife and cuts into the box
"Can you not dig as deep, the cargo is not exactly fragile" the old man adds
"Is there a reason why you are saying that?" Deacon asks, but then is answered when a squirt of juice hits his glasses. He takes them off and looks at the orange fluid. Chris opens the lid to reveal a bunch of oranges inside
"Fruit?" She asks
"Fresh from Florida" the man answers "my family owns a farm and I deliver. But I'm just getting too old, so little one here carries them for me whenever I come" the group looks at Isa
"There will be people here to inspect the rest of the boxes, but continue what you are doing" Hondo says "sorry for the inconvenience sir"
"I'm in no rush" the man says "are you?" he looks at Isa
"No sir" she says. The group nods before walking away
"You have no idea how relieved I am" Luca says as the group hears the police cars coming to relieve them from the task. Before leaving, Luca looks back at Isa and sees her continuing to work.
Back at HQ, the team waits for the searches from each boat to come through
"All of them are named St. Sandler, think the owner is the same?" Hondo asks
"Must be, now we can narrow down the boats" Deacon says "how many boats are registered under that name?"
"It says here that there 15 of these boats in LA. We got five of them in the past few days" Tan says
"Which means they've got to be scrambling, with only ten boats left" Hondo says
"What is the effects of not taking the drug?" Chris asks
"All addicts are being sent to Florence Hospital. The doctors receiving them have reported that they mostly sleep it off. But the person experiences nightmares and hallucinations" Hicks says coming in
"Anyone die from it yet?" Street asks
"Thank the Lord not" Hicks says "but it is being estimated that 1 out of every 10 person ages 13-19 is on the pill"
"What happens to the younger and older ones?" Hondo asks
"The older ones aren't bothered by it too differently than the others. Little kids are getting a double dose. Making the chances of them dying double. There is nothing on what happens to the brain with them on it"
"Imagine going to bed, and never waking up" Tan says "terrible"
"The only way kids can get it is through older kids or parents" Hondo says "if it is the parents, they'll have no idea what could happen"
"Just means they are terrible parents" Street argues "sleeping pills off the streets? That isn't good parenting"
"I second that" Deacon says bitterly
"All doctors are being told to looks for symptoms of the pill" Hicks informs "the main way to tell is if their eyes create a white tint when the light is shined on them. All patients coming in will be tested with a flashlight light. If there is reasonable assumption, then there will a drug screening"
"We need to shut this crew down" Hondo says to the team "we are going to take down each boat one by one, until they make a mistake. Once they do, we pounce, understood?"
"Yes sir!" The group shouts, their voices echoing throughout the center.
After shift, Luca grabs his stuff and is about to head out when he is stopped by the team.
"Going to see Isa?" Hondo asks, he nods
"We want to come" Tan says "meet her for ourselves"
"And maybe teach her a few things about standing up for herself" Chris adds, Luca smiles
"Alrighty" Luca says excitedly "she'll be thrilled to meet some new faces" the team walk out to the parking lot. There Isa back on the branch, she lights up seeing Luca, Deacon, Hondo, and Chris. Waving them over. When she sees two unfamiliar faces, Isa thinks about fleeing, but decides against it.
"Isa!" Luca calls "meet my SWAT family!" The team stands under to the tree, looking up at her as she looks down, straddling the branch
"Woah" Isa says, looking at them individually, wanting to memorize every feature on their faces "I have a question"
"Go for it" Luca answers
"Do they tuck you in at night and tell you stories?" She asks "like you told me families do?"
"Well this is a bit different" Deacon says "we are like a family. We don't live together or do those sorts of things. But we look out for one another"
"There are multiple definitions?" She asks
"A family is a group of people that are going to be there no matter what happens" Street replies "that's the general definition"
"What is your name?" Isa asks
"I'm Street, Jim Street"
"And I am Victor Tan, Tan" both men greet, Isa smiles and shakes their hands
"Nice to meet you two"
"We heard you have a few people who like to pick on you" Chris says, Isa nods silently "do you know how to stand up for yourself?"
"Someone told me once that fighting with your head is better than your fists" Isa replies "doesn't really work, but maybe one day when I'm bigger, it will"
"Sometimes, Isa, words don't always work" Deacon explains carefully "there is a line that people can't cross"
"Line?" She asks
"An invisible line which is your personal boundaries" Street explains "how much you're willing to tolerate"
"And when people cross it, sometimes you need to get a bit physical to show them you mean business" Luca says "just so they know not to cross your line"
"How do I do that?" She asks
"We can teach you" Chris says, Isa's eyes light up, very interested to learn something outside of a book and that is not working for once
"Really?" She asks, the group nods
"Come on" Street says, "I want to see what you can do" Isa smiles widely, the biggest smile in her life. She quickly climbs down and follows them back inside.
In the ring, Chris shows Isa the basics of boxing and Street aids as a sparing partner. Tan shows her how to defend and protect the major organs. Hondo gives her a lesson on negotiation and how to know when to actually throw a punch. Luca and Deacon show her simple exercises she can do anywhere to become really strong. After awhile, the team leads Isa out again. Happy to have done something for her. Isa smiles, in the best mood she had been in her entire life
"Thank you, for everything" she says
"Of course Isa" Deacon says "we are here for alright, whenever you need us" Isa smiles, the sound of plane going catches the team's attention, and of course, they look down to find Isa gone