Thanks to everyone who keeps reading. I feel I must apologize because there is very little of the Reagans in this. In fact, there's only a brief mention of any of Joe. Anyway, thanks to LucifersAlleyCat, patrickpopp, Paige Parmenter, Maritza92, decadenceofmysoul, Maria Barboza1, and the guest Justagirljustate for your reviews. Also someone once asked me for a view into how Anna gets into the heads of those guys so I thought I'd show that or attempt it at least.

"Reagan!" her C.O. called as she entered the station one morning.

"Yes, sir," Anna answered. She stopped and turned to look but saw her captain and not her patrol sergeant. "Sir?" she asked. It wasn't often she interacted with the captain. The last time she could remember was after P.T. during the simulations.

"Don't get changed, just get to my office," he said. "Cortez, you're riding with Johansen today," the captain called.

"Yes, Sir," Cortez answered. He sounded way too happy about that.

Anna tucked her clean uniforms in her locker then went into the office. The captain was not alone in there. "Sir? Agent White?" she asked, shocked by the sight of the FBI agent. She stood with her hands behind her back, keeping her eyes on the captain. She had never felt more exposed in her favorite graphic tee and blue jeans.

"So, you two have met before?" the captain asked.

Anna swallowed, hoping she was going to get into even more trouble. "Yes, sir. He bailed me out of some trouble."

"Good. Detective Hill and Captain Ortega have agreed to loan you out to the Feds for the next two weeks. I only agreed because Officer Maldonado is due back from leave tomorrow. I'll leave Agent White to explain what they need from you."

"Of course."

The captain left the room and Anna turned to the FBI agent. "Well, you know what I said about favors. We're investigating a RICO case. A gambling ring we've stumbled upon is also involved in extortion and money laundering. We've been working this case for months and our U.C.'s always get found out. Nate told me you've never—"

"Don't say it. You'll jinx it," Anna said. The last thing she needed was someone to mention she had never been outed and then to get outed. It was better to just say she was good at what she did. "Right, since I'm good at what I do, you thought you'd see what I can do to help you out."

"Essentially, yes. There are rumors of a very lucky woman when it comes to underground poker. At least, rumors inside law enforcement. This is our office location; I'll see you there in an hour." He offered her a card.

She didn't take it. She was appreciative of all the help he had given her but there was no way she was going to put her life on the line for a Fed she barely knew and wasn't sure she could trust. "The case you're working, how close do these guys come to your office?" Anna asked.

He lowered his hand and stared at her. "No one's staking out an FBI office."

She smirked. "Maybe not but one of the reasons I'm so good is because I never meet Detective Hill inside a police station. You want me in on this, we do this my way. I don't need to know everything about this case, I just need to know who I'm after and how to get in the game."

"That's really all you need to know?"

"Catalina Cantina over on Stardust. It gets busy at lunch time. Third booth from the back, order the nachos and bring a paper file. I'll see you there."

"Got it." She grinned and turned, leaving the station.

When she got there, she looked around but didn't see anyone particularly paying attention to Agent White. She walked through the busy café and slid into the booth pulling out a menu. Agent White continued to watch her. "Relax and act like it's just lunch with a friend. Have you ever handled an undercover op before?" Anna asked. She plucked a nacho from the plate and chewed it thoughtfully.

"A few but never meeting with the U.C." He looked more nervous than a trapped bear.

"Eat," she said, pushing the plate towards him. She waited until he ate one before she went on. "When you're done here, reach out to Nate. Ask him for tips or bring him in on this. I will not put my life on the line for a Fed who's never handled a U.C. before."

Agent White stared at her, those deep, dark eyes tracing her face. "What—" he started.

"Hi," Anna cut him off, turning to the server who just walked up. "I'd like a sweet tea and lemonade, with the five-layer burrito, and some guac on the side, and my friend here ..." she raised her eyebrows at Agent White.

"Enchiladas please, no sour cream."

"Thank you so much," Anna said.

"Of course," the server said.

When the waitress walked away, Anna smiled at the agent. "So, I hear the Marlins are a good team this year."

"I don't really follow baseball. I follow the Panthers, hockey not football."

"Right, ok. Tell me about the best player on the team," Anna said.

Ray stared at her and reluctantly went with the subject change. They talked about the Panthers and the Rangers, both hockey, until after the waitress brought their meals. About a quarter of the way into it, Anna finally brought it back to the subject they were there for.

"The point to lunch is if you're in a crowded enough place, it's very hard to overhear anything important. Also, the more small talk you make, the more likely they get bored before they overhear anything important," Anna said.

"I see," Ray said.

"All I really need to know is the who and the when. Anything more than that blocks up my mind." Ray slid a folder across the table. She was pleased to see it was in a plain manila folder and not one that showed the FBI logo on the front. She was trying to make this meeting seem like an everyday occurrence. Less of a chance of getting murdered or found out that way. Especially if someone was watching them. She flipped through the pages as she continued to eat and sure enough, found her targets and the next game that they'd be at. "This is great but I need a way in. I can't just show up at this location and expect them to let me in, I'll need someone to vouch for me. You'll have to find a mid-level player that is in another open game this week. You need help with that …"

"I know, I know. Nate's a good resource."

"And a great detective."

"And you trust him?"

"You know I do."

"Alright."

"And the point of all this? I get in on this game and get them to openly admit what they've been doing on a wire and you scoop up everyone?"

"Exactly."

"I want to warn you to make sure that after you scoop everyone up, I go too. The worst thing you can do is not arrest me and it leads to my cover being blown."

"I know that. Not my first rodeo."

"Understood." They finished up lunch and Anna left to study up on the people they were after.

Four days later, Nate dropped her a location and a picture of the guy she needed to get close to. This would be the player from the mid-level game that would get her into the other game if she managed to get close to him.

She started those games the same way she always did, slow and steady, sometimes folding but occasionally winning. Mr. Abner was sitting two seats to her left. The guy to her right had a massive tell when he had a good hand, he'd play with his highest value chips. When he had a bad hand, he wouldn't touch his chips. The guy on her left on the other hand was much more subtle. He'd rest his hand on his leg and his pointer finger would start tapping signifying his high cards. The guy across from her would talk more the higher his cards were. Anna on the other hand spent more time watching the other players than actually checking her cards, sometimes not even knowing what they were until the turn or river card came up. Those were the last two cards of five the dealer would lay down. They could pair three of the dealer's cards with their two or four of the dealer's cards with one of their own to make the best five cards of the seven. The final guy at the table, three seats to her left, was one of the hardest to read. He had no tell that she could pick up on. As the games went on, it would often come down to her, Mr. Abner, and the final guy she couldn't read.

"You're really good at this," Mr. Abner said to her as she sat with a jack and ten in her hand.

The first three cards on the table, also called the flop, were a king, a nine, and an eight. A seven or a queen would give her a straight. She just had to hope someone didn't have an ace/queen, or ace/jack in their hand. The higher the cards in the straight, the more likely they were to win. There were five other hands that could beat a straight, but those were very rare hands.

Anna turned her attention back to the game. "Yeah, well beginner's luck. I don't play poker seriously that often but you know what they say about trust fund kids, bored habits, and money to blow. Need something to give them that thrill in their lives. Call," she told the dealer matching the raise of the guy at the end of the table. That had been her cover story, a trust fund kid with money to blow and a bad habit of liking poker a little too much.

"Call," Mr. Abner answered. The dealer put down the turn card, a six. She still needed a queen or seven. With that six, a royal flush was out of the cards, there was no way to get the other two face cards needed, no matter which cards either man was holding. A straight flush was also out of the cards since the nine was a different suit than either the king or eight. He still could be holding queen/jack which would still be a higher straight and there was still the possibility of a full house or four of a kind depending on the next card the dealer turned up so she wasn't really safe here.

"You've been pretty good at this too. I've been watching you and I can never really tell what you've got. Though I suppose that's the point."

"Bet's to you, miss," the dealer told her. In games like this, the dealer never actually played, they just dealt the cards.

Anna tossed in her bet and the dealer turned to Mr. Abner who tapped the table indicating a check allowing him to bet after the other man at the end of the table made his decision whether to call, raise, or fold. That man, who was now sitting back in his chair, looked at his cards, at his chips, then at the pot before looking back at his cards. He shook his head and tossed his cards to the dealer indicating he was folding.

"To you sir."

Mr. Abner smirked. "What do you say we make this bet a little more interesting? As a trust fund kid, you're probably not in it for the money but petty bets like this aren't going to give you a high enough thrill. That pot is close to a thousand bucks in it. You sittin' on about 800. She flips that river card and I win; I get the pot plus all your chips."

"You're right, it's not about the money. What if I win?" she asked calmly. This could be her ticket in, she just had to play it cool and let him offer it up on a silver platter. He was coming off as a guy who talked a big game and wanted to be the coolest guy in the room but he was trying too hard.

"If you win, which you won't, I'll tell you where a bigger game is and get you in."

"I don't know, my social schedule is kinda full."

"What are you doing? Take the bet!" Ray nearly shouted in her ear. Anna reached up and pressed against the comm in her ear causing it to squeal.

"You alright?" Mr. Abner said.

Since her hair was over her ears, he couldn't see the comm which would blow her cover and get her accused of cheating. "I'm fine. The angel on my shoulder is just having issues like she usually does and needs to shut up." She paused, waiting to see if Ray would say anything else. He didn't. "What if I give in to her and don't take your bet?"

"Then you miss out on a chance to win at least triple that pot and meet some great guys."

Anna checked her cards and her stack of chips again to give the appearance she was thinking it over but really all she was doing was getting under his skin. "So, we could ignore the bet and finish the game or I could take the bet, win, and get an invite to a bigger game."

"And if you lose, I get all the chips."

"When is this other game? I have a busy calendar, you know." She batted her eyes and twisted a strand of hair around her finger.

"Next Tuesday afternoon."

Anna leaned forward a bit to size up Mr. Abner. She glanced at the cards on the board then took a deep breath. She looked back at him and pushed all her chips to the center. "I'm in. Prepare to lose."

"Alright, flip it."

The dealer burned a card, which just meant discarding one, then flipped one. Queen of Clubs. It was all Anna could do to not to smirk. She watched the man as he stared at her. He didn't look too happy with that so either he already had a queen in his hand and that had only given him a pair and wrecked his chance at a straight or he didn't have anything. "You first?" she asked. While technically she should go first, she wanted to surprise him with the win.

"Sure. Kings over eights," he said as he put down his two cards matching them with the king and eight on the board. Two pair with a queen kicker. She had been wrong. Two pairs of cards was a good hand but it wasn't good enough to beat hers.

"Flopped a two pair. Not bad. Not great but not bad. Too bad it's not great." She flipped the jack then after a pause the 10. "King-high straight." Her jack and ten cards with the king, queen, and nine card on the board meant five cards in a row and that beat two pairs of cards.

"Lady wins," the dealer confirmed. The dealer pushed her the pot and Anna looked at Mr. Abner. She could play a few more games here to not make it suspicious that she had gotten what she had come for but she could also play it off like she was bored and had other things to do which was the better option.

"I believe that's all for me, tonight," Anna said to the dealer. The dealer nodded to a man in the corner who would cash her out. Anna smiled at Mr. Abner. "You know how it is, social requirements."

"I see." Mr. Abner pulled out a card from his pocket and offered it to her after writing something on the back. "Meet me here at two p.m. on Tuesday."

She took the card from his hand, the cash from the banker, and almost literally flounced out of the room. She did have a cover to keep after all. She took a taxi, having it wind its way through the city, taking more turns than necessary, and checking over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't followed, only to end up two blocks away from where she started. After paying the driver and he was out of sight, she checked both directions and walked around the block the entire way then climbed into the van on the curb. Once the door shut behind her, she glared at Ray.

"I'm sorry," Ray said, putting his hands up. "Nate's already given me the riot act and I apologize. I don't think you're incompetent or not capable, clearly you are, I just ... I've worked with a lot of agents who need their hand held and forgot you weren't one of them."

"I accept your apology. As long as it doesn't happen again," Anna answered.

"I'll do my best," Ray agreed.

"Better be better than today," Anna huffed.

"Let's see it," Nate said. Anna stared at Ray for another second or two then pulled the card from the pocket she had tucked it into and handed it to Nate. "This is down near the Everglades. We may have to bring in Dade County for support depending on how many are at the game."

"You really think that's a good idea?" Ray asked.

"I think we can't do it all ourselves and it's outside Miami P.D.'s jurisdiction. Unless, of course, the bureau has 20 to 30 extra agents to help with the round up," Nate told him.

"Point taken," Ray agreed.

She met with Nate a few days later. "I'm starting to regret bringing him in," Nate said.

Anna had to calm her handler down. While she too didn't like the way Ray had been handling the case, their ultimate goal was still a noble one and needed to be done. "You had no way of knowing he would do that. I played it off but next time, it may not work. Despite that, we're doing the right thing here."

"You're right. I'll keep him away from the mic, I promise. Are you ready for this game?"

"Much as I usually am. I don't know if it's because I don't know how much I trust the FBI or I just feel pressure because it's a bigger case."

"Look, you're a great cop and a talented poker player. Focus on the game and the rest will fall into place. Remember, all you have to do is get them to talk, they'll hang themselves."

She stared at him for a moment wondering how this got turned around on her. "I know."

"Good. Do you remember your first game?"

"Yeah."

"You were so nervous."

Her first game had taken place six weeks into the academy. She had been so super nervous that she had barely been able to get any words out to make them talk until Nate had pushed her. Soon she had them singing like birds. With that game behind her, Nate and Captain Ortega told her to focus on the game and getting them to talk. It didn't matter if she won or lost every game, it just mattered if they talked. Over time, the nerves went away and a feeling of calm overtook her. "Yeah, I was but I figured it out."

"Just like you will this time and I'll keep him off the mic."

"Thanks."

"Anna, be careful, ok? I know you're very good at what you do but I know less about these guys than I normally do and that could be very dangerous for both of us."

"I know. No matter how prepared I am, I know you can't be too careful."

The game came up and sure enough, Mr. Abner got her in. She looked around to see three tables set up. She started at one table and worked on wiping them out to make it to the last game where she suspected she'd face the man the FBI wanted. On the last hand, she was, sure enough, sitting across from the suspect the FBI was looking for. "So tell me, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" he asked.

"Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine," Anna answered, watching him.

His eyes lit up in recognition. He definitely recognized the quote from Casablanca. "And if I had said that, there was a 95% chance you wouldn't have known what I was talking about."

"Why not? It's only rated PG. It was my uncle's favorite movie. He'd always say to me: Mary, "you played it for her, you can play it for me. If she can stand it, I can. Play it!" Much like the line: "Luke, I am your father", it's often misquoted. Here too, he never says Sam's name. In fact, in that scene, he only says Sam's name twice, both times long before he asks him to play As Time Goes By."

"You didn't answer me. Why this gin joint?"

Anna crossed her arms on the edge of the table and rested her chin on top of them. "Rounder's."

"What?" he snapped. She held quiet for a moment or two. She had heard that sometimes it can take a few seconds for what you're saying to sink in. "Did you say Rounder's, like the movie?"

"With Matt Damon and Ed Norton? Yeah. I always thought he made a better hero than Ruffalo but"—she scoffed—"what do I know?" She took a quick peek at her cards. Jack/nine split in clubs and spades. Not that great of a hand but maybe she could bluff him with it. She already had most of his confession on tape so this wasn't about that.

"Let me guess, you watched the movie, thought "that doesn't look hard", and decided to worm your way into this game?"

"Something like that. Let's see if I learned anything, huh?"

They both laid their bets and the dealer laid the flop. Seven of hearts, eight of diamonds, and 10 of hearts. She couldn't believe it. She had just gotten a straight right off the bat. It was going to be hard to beat that hand. Especially when the next card was a two of clubs. With the eight being off suit, a straight flush was even rarer unless he held the eight and either nine or six of hearts and the three low cards meant a royal flush was also off the table. For a royal flush, one needed the Ace, plus three face cards, plus the ten on the table. There was still a chance of four of a kind, four cards of the same number, or a flush, five cards of the same suit, or a higher straight beating her but the chance of that was small. Anna checked then matched the other guy's small bet.

The final card was an ace. The ace of spades. That meant no flush or four of a kind but if he held a jack/nine as well it would be a tie and typically that meant a split pot. She wasn't sure that would be true here. They both made their bets and she stared him down. "What you got?" she asked.

"Normally, I'd say you first but fine." He flipped his two cards, a nine and six. A lower straight. Six, seven, eight, nine, ten. Since the highest card in his straight was lower than the highest card in her straight, she had just won the game.

She held in her smirk, keeping her face as neutral as possible. She needed to see what more he'd reveal. She was certain there was more to it than what he had already said and the more they had the better they could pin him with. "Let's say you just won that hand. You got some big, fancy party planned?"

"Let's just say money in the right place, can make things really easy. Of course, making sure they don't know where that money is coming from is the best way to cover your tracks."

"Well, I'm going to have to disappoint you there," she flipped her first card, the nine, "because you see, like in Rounders, the ace didn't help me any." She flipped the jack. "Jack-high straight." That beat a ten-high straight any day."

"Damn you straight to hell," he growled out, shoving his chair back from the table. He cursed her out and two men moved across the room, both flashing guns. It was then that the door opened and there were calls of 'Police freeze' and 'Federal Agents, show your hands.'

Soon Anna was sitting in an FBI interrogation room in handcuffs. It could have gone a lot worse. Luckily, no one had been hurt and no one had fired a shot. She wanted out of the handcuffs but they had to make sure her cover didn't get blown before they could make cases against the rest of the perps. "So, tell me how you did it," Agent White said.

"Everything you need to know is on that wire," she answered.

"That doesn't tell me how you got in their heads." He leaned forward in his chair slightly.

Though she didn't want to blow her cover, she did want Agent White to know a little of her method. At least until they saw whether or not a lawyer showed up for her. That had happened before. She had been working a case with Nate for a good few months and had made decent acquaintances with one of the top guys and after they had all been busted, he had sent a lawyer to get her off. She didn't want to think about what would happen if she hadn't been there when the lawyer showed up. "You get them to underestimate you. A simple trust fund girl who grew up on the beach. With that kind of background most people think you're an entitled airhead and pay you no mind as they discuss things. That and if you got invited to a shady underground poker game, people talk about shady things."

"That doesn't explain why they start talking."

"You can hear it on the wire. You ask about them, what brought them to play, what they'll do with the money, things like that. First though, you gotta study them and their body language. Find out what triggers them so you know when to stop pushing. The last thing you want to do is anger the wrong guy," Anna said. "I can fill out a report and have Nate drop it off."

"Ray," another agent said, entering the room.

"What?" he snapped at the agent in the doorway. Ray had climbed to his feet and looked irritated at being interrupted.

"There's a lawyer here, asking for her. Says she's his client," the other agent said, sheepishly.

"You called a lawyer?" Ray asked.

Anna stared up at him. He knew she hadn't had time to call for a lawyer. She had been in Nate's custody the entire time and Ray had not been too far from them. She still answered his question to make it look legit. "Nope." Anna wasn't sure who had called the lawyer but she'd be grateful for that. At least, it would look good. She sat back in her chair and waited for the lawyer. The man who walked into the room Anna had never seen before but he looked powerful and snooty so there was a chance that he'd have a reasonable argument to get her out of the fake trouble she was in.

"Not another word, Ms. Mary. I'm Gary Smith. Can you tell me what you're charging my client with?" Mr. Smith said as he looked at Ray.

"That's really up to the federal prosecutors, but if I had to say wager a guess I'd be along the lines of illegal gambling, maybe RICO charges," Ray reluctantly answered.

"You don't have the evidence for RICO charges. All she was doing was playing a little poker game. No ill intention at all. I think it's time I talk to the Assistant State Attorney," Mr. Smith said.

"Alright." Ray stepped out of the room and turned to Nate.

Meanwhile, Anna turned to the lawyer. "How exactly do you plan on getting me out of this?"

"Illegal poker is, at best, a misdemeanor. You'll get off with a fine, maybe probation."

"Probation? Fancy lawyer like you, I should walk away from this no problem."

"I'm preparing you for the reality of the situation. No matter how well I defend this, there is a chance she just won't budge. And if this does go to trial, it's going to take 12 being convinced that what you did isn't wrong."

"And you don't think you're capable of that?"

"I didn't say that."

"Then what are you saying? In plain American?"

"That it's going to be an uphill battle and it's better to take the deal than try to fight it."

"That's the worst legal advice I've ever gotten, so, you're fired. Goodbye." Mr. Smith stared at her for a few moments then he left her alone in the room. Anna rolled her eyes and drummed her fingers on the table until Ray walked back in with a woman who reminded her of Erin in that Boss Woman kind of way. The power was just rolling off her in waves.

"Ms. Reagan," the attorney asked.

"Miller. It's Mary Miller."

"Where'd your lawyer go?"

"I fired him." Anna blinked at her. "He was incompetent at best. Now, what charges do you have and who are you?"

"ASA Ginny Blevins," the Assistant State's Attorney told her. "I could charge you with a slew of crimes but to be honest, the RICO case is more important. You're going to testify for me against Ricky Valezquez and you'll be in the clear," the woman said.

Anna looked at Ray wondering how much he had told her. She really hoped he hadn't spilled the entire case. However, since she was looking for testimony and she had gone with Anna's fake name, maybe he hadn't told her anything. "Before I do that, perhaps you should step out and speak with Detective Hill."

"Is there something I need to be aware of?" Ms. Blevins asked.

"Again, speak with him," Anna insisted.

The State's Attorney stepped out into the hall and Anna went back to drumming on the table. She wasn't sure what Nate was telling the woman but she was sure it had something to do with ongoing cases. There were two on the books at the moment. Having her on the stand could blow her cover and that's why she rarely testified about her undercover gigs. Usually that fell to Nate. The attorney stepped back in and looked at her. "You're free to go," she said.

"Really? Like that?"

"Don't make me change my mind … Ms. Miller."

"Thanks." Anna stood and walked out. Out front, Anna caught a lift home. She walked over to the freezer and stared into it contemplating what would top her afternoon. Finally, she settled on waffles. While not technically junk food, it would definitely fill her up.

Just wanted to say that I came up with Detective Nate Hill before I knew about NYPD Detective Joe Hill. As to whether or not Joe Hill will appear in this story, you'll just have to wait and see. Remember this chapter is set at the end of season 7. Also, if I need to clarify anything, just let me know.