2x04: Warriors and Guardians

***

"Detective Lopez came back to patrol." Lucy said to Nolan as she, Jackson and Nolan are all waiting in the bullpen.

"What? I heard my name mentioned." Hunter said, making her way over with Tim.

"You know Nyla Harper?" Nolan asked.

"I've heard of her. Detective, only person other than me to get a golden ticket, undercover for four years." Hunter said shrugging before moving off to the briefing room talking with Tim.

"Here's me thinking that it'd be awkward after their date." Lucy said.

"They planned it all." Grant said, Lucy turned and raised an eyebrow. "Hunter told me."

"Well, I'm not complaining. It won me short sleeves." Lucy said.

***

The four of them stepped into the roll call room and took their respective seats.

Grey walked in the room. "We have a new Training Officer joining us this morning, Detective Nyla Harper," Grey looks around. "Nyla?" He spots Nyla outside the room chatting with another officer. Grey goes over to tap on the glass and motions for her to get into the briefing room.

"What's up?" Nyla asked.

"You're late for roll call." Grey said.

"Oh, that's still a thing?" Nyla asked.

"Take a sear," Harper sat in the empty rookie row and Angela and Tim shared a look. "As I was saying, Detective Harper just completed four years of undercover work. She has volunteered to bring her wealth of experience to the FTO program. Officer Nolan, I'm sure you'll learn a lot." Grey said.

"Looking forward to it, sir." Nolan states.

"If you need anything, ask the Lopezes and Bradford. They'll bring you up to speed." Grey said to Nyla.

"Yes, sir." Nyla nodded her head.

"All right, that's it. Be safe out there." Grey said.

Cops leave the briefing room and Angela, Hunter and Tim come up to speak to Nyla. "Hey. Angela Lopez." Angela said.

"Hi." Nyla said.

"He's Bradford. And she's Hunter, my sister." Angela said, pointing to her sister and Tim respectively.

Hunter and Nyla nod at each other.

"I've heard of you, you were born and raised here, joined the army, then the LAPD became a detective transferred to the NYPD, met two former presidents, got a golden ticket in the NYPD and moved back to patrol. Why?" Nyla asked.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." Hunter said, smirking.

"I like you." Nyla said pointing at Hunter, sensing a kindred spirit.

"Surprised to see a detective volunteer as a TO. Most would see it as a step backward." Tim said.

Hunter made a noise of offence, that Harper and Tim ignored.

"While clearly, you've never moved forward. I get the appeal, though, surround yourself with kids who don't know enough to see through your bull." Nyla said.

"Look, solid policing is anything but bull. Whereas cops like you spend so much time over the edge you don't even know where the line is." Tim argued.

Hunter and Angela shared a look, both knowing that Harper and Tim were gonna argue quite a bit until they got used to each other.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, handsome. I'm not saying you're not tough. I'm just saying you're not me." Nyla walked off.

"I love her so much." Angela states, looking over at Tim.

Hunter turned to Tim. "Excuse you, I moved back to patrol after I got a golden ticket."

"Yeah but that's cause you wanted to come home. Why would she return?" Tim wondered.

"Something bought her back, something important, for me it was my family and a desire to return here. It's probably something like that for Harper." Hunter shrugged and left the room.

***

Nyla walks up to the kit room where Nolan is signing out the gear. "What's all this?" Nyla asked.

"Our gear." Nolan replied.

Nyla starts going through the bags and pulling items out to leave them on the counter. "Ticket book? You're not gonna need that. Or that. Or this." She way saying.

"Okay, well, Sergeant Grey likes to see two citations a week." Nolan said.

"Grey's not your TO," Nyla remarked and turned to the kit room officer. "Give me an AR-15 with PVS-14 night vision and a laser sight." She said.

"You're AR certified?" The kit room officer asked.

"Card's on file." Nyla replied.

"Coming up." The kit room officer said.

"You really think we're gonna need an AR-15?" Nolan asked.

"Sure hope so." Nyla smiled as it was handed to her.

"L-Look, um, about last night. I-I really don't understand the ruse. If you wanted to know why I wanted to be a cop, you could have just asked me, and I would have told you." Nolan said.

"I wanted to see who you were when you weren't kissing your new TO's ass. And I found out you can't be trusted." Nyla said.

"Because I want to help people?" Nolan asked.

"Because you started spilling secrets to a complete stranger. What if that waitress had a brother in the Rolling 60s who would just love to smoke an off-duty cop?" Nyla asked.

"I didn't think of that." Nolan said.

"Clearly." Nyla deadpanned.

"Okay, look, I'm sorry. That won't happen again. You obviously have a wealth of experience. And I'm looking forward to learning everything you have to teach." Nolan said.

"Oh, I won't be teaching you." Nyla said.

"You're my training officer." Nolan said.

"Which earns me a 5% pay bump. Whether you learn or not." Nyla walks off smirking.

***

"So, I heard from Grant that it's one of the Lopezes birthday. Which one's is it?" Lucy asked as she and Tim were patrolling.

"Neither, it's Bruno's but he's living in New York." Tim answered. Lucy stared at him in slight shock. "What?" Tim asked.

"And you just know his birthday without asking Hunter or Angela?" Lucy asked.

"Yep." Tim said.

"Date, month, year then, in birth order." Lucy states.

"Damien, 8th, January 1980, Benny, 4th July 1981, Cruz, March 1st 1982, Hunter, March 12th 1983, Bruno, 24th November 1986, Angela, September 7th 1989." Tim said, reciting the birth order and dates from memory.

"That's impressive." Lucy said slightly shocked.

"I know." Tim deadpanned.

"Welcome back." Lucy muttered under her breath.

"What?" Tim asked.

"Nothing." Lucy replied.

***

Nolan is keeping an eye out for possible problems. "Broken taillight."

"Which he clearly can't afford to fix." Nyla said.

Nolan sees a car stop for a moment before going again. "Ah, look, she barely stopped. She could have caused an accident." He comments.

"But she didn't. Is this why you became a cop, Five Percent? To harass hard-working people just trying to get by? Doesn't sound very guardian-like to me." Nyla said.

"No, ma'am, but Sergeant Grey likes to see 2, 2, and 2 - two citations, two misdemeanors, and two felony arrests a week." Nolan explained.

"Yeah, we won't be doing that." Nyla said.

"And if he fires us?" Nolan asked.

"I can't get fired. I have a golden ticket as does Detective Lopez, meaning she can't get fired either even though she got given her golden ticket in New York." Nyla said.

"Like in "Willy Wonka"?" Nolan asked.

"Like in the LAPD or in Detective Lopez's case the NYPD. It's a reward for policing above and beyond. I had my choice, any station, any detail as did Lopez." Nyla explained.

"And you picked this? And so did she." Nolan said.

"Mm-hmm." Nyla replied.

"Well, you must have taken down some heavy hitters." Nolan said.

"It's what warriors do, Officer Nolan. Which is why we don't get out of this car for anything less than a felony. And when we do step out, we step out hard and fast. Strike before they can. And if you slow me down, you are done." Nyla warned.

***

Two boys are firing paintball guns at the people and tents in the camp. One woman, Alice, is trying to shield herself and begging them to stop. "Aah!"

"Are you kidding me?!" Evan yelled.

"Please stop." Alice said.

Hunter and Grant get out of their shop and approach the boys. "Drop the guns now! Show us your hands!" Hunter yelled.

"Okay, okay." Evan and his friend lowered the guns and Grant approached them.

"You got 'em?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah," Hunter chucked Grant the keys to the shop. "Let's go." Grant escorts the boys over to the shop.

Hunter turns to talk to the homeless woman in her tent. "Police. Is someone in there?" She asked.

Alice comes out of her tent. "I-I don't want trouble."

"Are you okay?" Hunter asked.

"I'll move. I just need my cart." Alice said.

"We're not clearing you out. We're here to help. We'll take you to a hospital. You've been hurt." Hunter tells her.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Just lea - Leave me alone." Alice said to Hunter.

"Okay, um, no problem," Hunter grabs out her notepad. "I just need some information for the report." Hunter explained.

"No, I got - I have to go." Alice said.

"At least tell me your name." Hunter said.

"Alice. Sheldon. Alice Sheldon." Alice said.

"Thank you, Alice. I'll make sure those boys never hurt you again. If you need anything –" Hunter hands Alice her card, picks up the paintball guns, and goes back to join Grant at the shop glaring at the boys.

"We were just protecting our neighborhood. My dad said they're tanking the property values." Evan said.

"She's a human being. I'm not so sure about you two." Hunter spat.

***

Nolan and Nyla are in a line of slow traffic. Nolan notices a car has no plates. "Maserati. No plates. Let me guess. Not worth getting out of the shop for." He said to her.

Nyla looked over. "No, this one, we stop." She said.

Nolan notices something. "A rag around the steering column to hide the broken ignition. That car is stolen." He realised.

"Driver in the Maserati, pull over," Nyla said over the shop radio, the car pulls over, Nyla surreptitiously unholstered her gun as she and Nolan make their way over to the car. "Driver. Step out of the car." She ordered.

The driver, Kriff looked out the window. "You're hot for a cop." He comments.

"I know." Nyla deadpanned. "Everybody out. Now," the occupants exit the car. "Hands where I can see them. Nolan. VIN." She said.

"Control, 7-Adam-15. Need you to run a VIN for me. Number's 7-1-8-" Nolan paused when he noticed one of the occupants move towards Nyla.

"Hey, stay where you are. Stay where you are!" The man went for Nyla and she hit him in the face with her gun. "You're under arrest," Kriff took off running and Nyla made chase. "Hey, stop!" She yelled.

"Get up." Nolan hauled the man up and cuffed them all before grabbing radio and running after Nyla and Kriff. "7-Adam-15. In foot pursuit of suspect. 7th and Figueroa. Hispanic male, 5'7", gray shirt, gray jeans. Requesting backup and airship."

"Aah! Aaaah!" Kriff yelled as he fell off the roof.

"7-Adam-15. Start an RA to 7th and Figueroa. Suspect down. Broken leg. Conscious and breathing," Nolan put his radio away. "Just stay still. Help is on the way." Nolan said.

"She pushed me. That bitch pushed me." Kriff said, Nolan looked up at Nyla who was looking down.

***

Later, Kriff is being loaded onto an ambulance. "Okay, ready." An EMT said.

Nyla was standing beside Nolan watching this unfold when Nolan turns to her. "So, what happened?" He asked.

"Gravity." Nyla deadpanned.

"He says you pushed him." Nolan states.

"I know I said I wasn't gonna teach you anything, Five Percent, but, um, here's a lesson. Criminals lie." Nyla said.

***

Nolan pokes his head into Grey's office. "Excuse me. May I have a word?" He asked.

"Oh, right on time." Nyla said making her presence known.

"I'll come back later." Nolan said, heading towards the exit.

"No. Stay," Nolan reluctantly stayed in the room and stood beside Grey. "This concerns you, too. See, Detective Harper asked me to review her body-cam footage." Grey pressed a button and the body cam footage played.

Nyla was chasing Kriff on the roof. "Hey! Stop! Stop! Hey!" She yelled.

Kriff stood on the ledge of the roof and jumped off, screaming as he fell. "Aaaaah!"

"I told you to stop!" Nyla remarked.

Grey pauses the footage. "Looks conclusive to me."

"Yes, sir." Nolan said.

"So I'll forward it to Internal Affairs with a memo. Hopefully it'll head off any civil lawsuits that might be coming your way." Grey said.

"Thank you, sir." Nyla said.

"You're welcome." Grey said.

Nyla walked to Nolan and looked at him. "And thank you for the trust." Nyla walked out and Nolan spoke with Grey.

***

Hunter was raiding the processing lockers when Grant comes over to her. "What are you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Raiding the lost and found." Hunter said.

"Why?" Grant asked.

"For Alice. The transient those kids were paintballing. I ran her name," Hunter and Grant were walking and talking. "10 years ago, she was on the tenure track at UCLA, teaching chemistry. Had a house, a couple dogs, then everything fell apart." She explained.

"That's awful. But, I mean, we interact with homeless every day. You don't bring them care packages." Jackson reminds her.

"Those kids took away her dignity, tortured her for fun. She deserves a little compassion." Hunter replied.

"Look, I, uh, have a couple sweatshirts in my car. We can grab them on the way out. Daisy left her jacket in my car as well, she won't mind if Alice takes it, in fact she'd prefer it." Grant said.

"Sounds good." Hunter said.

***

Hunter and Grant made their way to their shop, having stopped by Grant's car to grab the sweatshirt. Hunter's phone buzzed and she grabbed it out, looking at the message and smiled widely, almost jumping up and down. "What's up with you?" Grant asked.

"Tim's gotten tickets to the baseball game tonight." Hunter said.

"I forgot you two liked the same sports teams, Rams, Dodgers and Lakers." Grant recites.

"Hey, they're good teams." Hunter said.

"I'm not judging, how'd he get tickets this late?" Grant asked.

"My brother, Bruno gets them, one of the coaches is an old friend of his and sends him tickets even though he lives in NYC, so he sends them to me or Tim." Hunter explained as she placed her phone away.

"Huh, I didn't know that." Grant said.

Hunter smiled wryly as she placed the items in the shop and got in the drivers seat.

***

Lucy and Tim were walking down a hallway in Shaw Memorial. "Lopez likes baseball?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow when she noticed Tim telling Hunter he had tickets to the next Dodgers game.

"Who doesn't like baseball? It's America's pastime." Tim replied.

"In the '30s. Besides, Lopez doesn't strike me as a sports person." Lucy said.

"She also to most people doesn't seem like a former soldier or someone who'd join the army and yet here she is twelve years later as a decorated Army veteran." Tim shot back. 

"Touché." Lucy said.

The two of them stopped outside a room where a mother was standing in the doorway. "Thank God." Eileen said in relief.

"Uh, we got a call about an assault?" Tim asked.

"They just barged in and started taking pictures," Eileen, Lucy and Tim look into Cody's room where he's hiding his face mostly behind a toy bear while two influencers, Bella and Miles, take photos with him. "My son is very sick." Eileen explained.

"Good! Yay!" Bella was exclaiming as Eileen entered the room and Tim and Lucy stood in the at the entrance of the room.

"- what you're doing." Miles said to Cody.

"Oh, that's awesome! Ready?" Bella asked.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Lucy spoke up.

"Just a second." Miles said.

Lucy and Tim shared a look. "Step out in the hallway right now. Both of you." Tim ordered, Miles placed down the selfie stick and followed Bella out.

"What's the problem, Officer?" Bella asked.

"They broke into my son's room and started posing." Eileen said.

""Broke in" is an exaggeration." Miles states.

"You told the nurse you were his sister." Eileen said to Bella.

"I didn't say I was his sister. I said I was a sister." Bella argued.

"We're just trying to help. Bella saw a Facebook post about little Cody and his fight against cancer. She has a half a million followers on social media." Miles said.

"I was just trying to draw attention to his plight. Doesn't that count for something?" Bella asked.

Tim and Lucy move to cuff Bella and Miles. "Not without permission. You're under arrest for trespassing and photographing a minor without a parent's consent." Tim said.

"I told you this was a bad idea." Bella hissed at Miles.

"You need more empathy posts. Your follows are stagnant. The consultant told us to find a sick kid –" Miles was saying.

"He's not a consultant. He's your cousin, and he still lives with his mom!" Bella yelled.

"He's got his finger on the pulse." Miles argued.

"Okay, enough," Tim said to Miles and Bella before speaking to Eileen. "All right, I am really sorry that this happened. We will come back and get your statement." He said.

Cody walks over to his mother and she crouches down. "Honey, get back in bed." Eileen said. Cody whispered to his mother who smiled and looked at Tim and Lucy who both frowned curiously at that.

Tim and Lucy are in Cody's room posing for a photo with him, while Bella and Miles are sitting in chairs while Eileen takes photos. "Can't we get in there? Just one picture." Bella said.

Cody, Lucy and Tim all look over at the two suddenly frowning. "No!" They then looked back at the camera and smiled again.

***

Hunter and Grant returned to the sight where Alice was staying. "Looks like she moved on." Grant comments.

"She left some stuff behind." Hunter said, looking around.

Grant spoke with some other residences. "Hey, you know where the woman who was attacked went? Have you seen her? Whose stuff is this here?" Grant notices that Hunter had picked something up. "What's that?" Grant asked.

It was a photo inside a zip lock bag. "I don't know, but Alice was trying to protect it." She said.

"Could it be her daughter?" Grant suggested looking at the photo.

"No, she didn't have kids. Control, I need you to run a name. Katrin Arnoux." Hunter said into her radio.

"I show a Katrin Arnoux as the victim of a hit-and-run in 2009." Dispatch said.

"Homicide?" Hunter asked.

"Negative. Victim was left paralyzed." Dispatch said.

"Any suspects?" Hunter asked.

"Negative. Would you like contact information on the investigating detective?" Dispatch asked.

"Yeah. Send it to the box." Hunter said and put the radio away.

"Wait, you don't think that –" Grant trailed off.

"10 years ago, this girl was paralyzed by a hit-and-run driver. And right after, Alice fell apart, ended up here. Sure sounds like guilt to me." Hunter said.

"We gotta find her. She's a fugitive." Grant said.

***

Nolan and Nyla were back on patrol. "Look, I only went to Grey because you refused to deal with me. You could have shown me your body-cam footage on scene." Nolan said.

"I don't answer to you, Five Percent." Nyla said.

"No, you don't. But if you are committed to making this an antagonistic relationship, don't expect me to roll over and take it." Nyla stared at him in shock, surprised that he was willing to stand up to her like that.

***

Alice was looking around for her photo. "Where - Where is it?!" She asked herself.

Hunter and Grant arrived. "Looking for this?" Hunter asked, showing her the photo.

Alice gasped and walked over to Hunter. "That's mine! Give it!" Alice pretty much snatched it out of Hunter's hand.

"Who is she?" Hunter asked.

"She's, um It's no one. I j- It's not anyone. It just- I like it." Alice said.

"Her name is Katrin Arnoux." Hunter states.

"N-N-No. No. No." Alice said, shaking her head.

"But I think you know that. What happened 10 years ago, Alice?" Hunter questioned.

"Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. I have to go." Alice said quickly.

"I think something did. Something that destroyed your life." Hunter said.

"N-N-No. N-No, no, no." Alice was shaking her head.

"It was late. Maybe you were tired. You never saw her. You tried to convince yourself it was an animal, but then you saw the news. And you tried to move on, but it haunted you. Poisoned every part of your life until you ended up here." Hunter said.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Alice denys.

"You do. And I think some part of you is relieved it's finally out." Hunter said.

"I never meant to hurt anybody." Alice said.

"I'm sorry, but you're under arrest." Hunter said apologetically.

"Okay. Okay." Alice said and Grant cuffed her.

***

Nolan and Nyla were parked outside a laundromat when she saw two people talking through the window. "Son of a bitch." Nyla said.

"What? - Who is he?" Nolan asked.

"Corkscrew. I knew him in Arizona. If he's in LA, something's up." Nyla replied.

"You met him when you were undercover?" Nolan asked, when he noticed Nyla unbuttoning her uniform shirt. What are you do- What are you?" Nolan looked away as Nyla unbuckled her belt and removed her pants. "What are you doing? You know, you're not supposed to take off your uniform on shift." Nolan reminds her.

"You gonna run and tell Grey?" Nyla asked, removing her make up and undoing her bun, messing her hair up.

"Just forget Grey. Just tell me what's going on. I'm your only backup out here." Nolan said.

"Corkscrew knew me as a tweaker named Crystal. If I play it right, he'll tell me why he's in town," Nyla goes to open the door and turns back to Tim. "Only come in if I need you." She said.

"How will I know?" Nolan asked.

"You'll know." Nyla replied and she got out the car and walked to the laundromat.

***

Nyla grabbed a jacket that she found hanging over a rack, some slippers and a dryer loaded with washing and she started grabbing it like it was her own, Corkscrew walked past her. "Crystal?" He asked.

Nyla turned around sharply and pointed at him. "These are my clothes." She said, pretending not to recognize him.

"Hey, hey, hey. It's me." Corkscrew said.

"Dude. Corkscrew. Dude, what are you doing here?!" Nyla asked.

***

Bella and Miles are getting their mugshots taken. "Can we get hi-res copies of these?" She asked.

"No." Tim said.

Lucy and Tim placed Miles and Bella in the holding cells and moved away when Lucy's phone rang. "It's Nolan." She said.

"So, answer it." Tim shrugged.

"Why, 'cause you want intel on the new TO?" Lucy asked.

"Or don't answer it. Suit yourself." Tim states.

Lucy answered. "Hey, you're on speaker. What's up?" She asked.

"Hypothetically, is it worse to disobey a direct order from your TO or to stand by and watch while they're killed?" Nolan asked.

"Depends on the TO." Lucy looked at Tim.

"Look, disobeying a direct order is a serious offense. So really think about it before you do it." Tim said into the phone.

"What's going on?" Lucy asked.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out." Nolan hung up.

***

Nyla was still talking to Corkscrew. "Okay, so, look. I-I need cash. You know, times is hard. A guy like you's in town. Something big must be going on. I want in." She said.

"Forget it." Corkscrew walked off.

Nyla grabbed his arm and turned him around. "No, hey, look! I'm a great lookout. I-It'd be like old times!"

"Hey, the last time you were supposed to help out, you flaked! I almost got pinched. A buddy of mine's doing five years." Corkscrew said.

"O-Okay, but that b-but that's not my fault, though." Nyla said.

"Are you saying it's mine? You junkie bitch!" Corkscrew tries to attack her.

Nyla pushes Corkscrew through a glass window and Nolan ran inside with his gun after noticing how Corkscrew went back in. "Hands where I can see them!" He yelled.

"Uh, uh, this crazy bitch attacked me." Corkscrew said.

"Turn around. Put your hands on the wall. Spread your feet. Ma'am, I need you to do the same thing." Nolan said and Nyla placed her hands on the dryer that was in front of her.

"Let him go. Arrest me." Nyla requested.

"Ma'am, you're under arrest. Come on. Give me your hand." Nolan cuffed her and led her out into the shop.

Corkscrew and Nolan were talking outside the shop while Nyla was sitting in the back of the shop.

Nolan after getting Corkscrews number got back in the shop and started driving, Nyla looked out the window. "All right, we're far enough away. Pull over and let me out."

"Not until you answer a couple of questions. What did Corkscrew say?"

"Pull over!" Nyla yelled.

"What's he doing in LA?"

"I am your TO. Pull over now!" Nyla snapped.

"Yeah, you know what? You really don't act like it." Nolan said.

"You know, I'd tell you what he said, but you'd probably just blab it to some random waitress." Nyla snarked.

"Okay, how am I the untrustworthy one here? Everything you have said to me so far is either a lie or an evasion."

"Not lying when I say I hate you."

"You know, I don't even think you can help it anymore. I don't think lying is second nature to you. I think it's first. It's who you are." Nolan said.

"Pull over right now, Five Percent, or I will have your badge." Nyla warned, Nolan didn't and instead stared out the window.

***

Nolan was sitting with the other two rookies eating lunch and talking, Tim, Grant, Angela and Hunter were all sitting together as well. "He's so getting fired." Grant comments, noticing Nyla in the back seat.

"Oh yeah," Hunter comments when Nyla manages to open the door. "How'd she do that? The shops only open from the outside."

The four of them watch Nyla and Nolan talking, with Nolan keeping something out of Nyla's hand until she answered him, and then he gave her the paper and she grabbed Nolan's radio and walked of, speaking into it.

"What is she wearing?" Angela asked, Nyla was just wearing slippers, the shirt from under her uniform, the bike shorts that were also under her uniform and her hair was mess.

"That's a good question." Grant agreed, taking a sip of his drink.

"I reckon she got a demotion." Tim comments.

"I'm a Detective, does it look like I got demoted?" Hunter asked, Tim shook his head. "Look, Nyla got a golden ticket and she chose patrol so whatever the reasoning is it had to do with family members." Hunter said.

"So, why'd you come back?" Grant asked.

"LA's home. And I'm not built for sitting behind a desk all day." Hunter said.

"You used to do UC work, why'd you quit that?" Angela asked.

"I quit last year. A personal choice." Hunter said, placing a hand subtly on Tim's arm, he knew the reason she quit was because she heard about what happened with Isabel and even though she was in another state, she wanted to be there for her best friend.

***

Hunter and Grant were in the observation room with Katrin Arnoux, she was in a wheelchair and they were looking at Alice through the glass. "That's really her?" Katrin asked.

"We think so." Hunter said.

"She looks so- so pathetic." Katrin replied, turning around to face the officers.

"As far as we can tell, her life fell apart after she hit you. It's almost impossible for a transient to hang on to anything. Belongings are stolen, confiscated by the city. But she held on to your picture for 10 years in conditions worse than prison. She never let herself forget. Even for a moment." Hunter said.

"What are you saying? She's suffered enough?" Katrin asked.

"Back in the day, if she was arrested, she would have gotten three years in prison. Maybe five." Grant explained.

"Instead, she's been punishing herself for the last decade. She ran but didn't escape.

"I'll never run again, Detective Lopez." Katrin said.

"Yes, ma'am. I apologize. I wasn't trying to excuse what she did to you. Only-" Hunter was saying.

"Only what? She destroyed a part of me. And you have the nerve to plead her case?" Katrin wheeled herself out of the room, Hunter and Grant watch her go.

"She was out of line." Grant said.

"No, she's right. I overstepped." Hunter replied.

***

The patrol officers were in the breifing room, Hunter and Tim were sitting on a table as they looked at the screen in front of the room that had a mugshot and information on Corkscrew. "This is Ross Tegan, AKA Corkscrew. He operates as a straw buyer out of Arizona, transporting unlicensed weapons into California where they end up on our streets. Thanks to Detective Harper, we now know the location of his next sale," Grey looked at Nyla. "Detective?" He asked.

"He may not look like much, but Corkscrew is putting guns in the hands of the most dangerous gangs in the city. Cut off his pipeline, our streets get safer, and our jobs get easier." Nyla states.

"So we'll observe the exchange from a van across the street. As soon as the buy takes place, SWAT will move in to make the arrest." Grey said.

"What about me?" Nyla asked.

"So, you and Nolan will secure the perimeter with Bradford and Chen, Lopez and Lawrence. Make sure we don't get any nasty surprises." Grey said.

"So, it's my bust, but you want me to wait outside?" Nyla asked.

"That's exactly what I want, Detective Harper. Is that gonna be a problem?" Grey asked.

"No, sir." Nyla states.

"Good. Gear up." Grey said.

Everyone leaves, Hunter, Grant, Tim and Lucy hang back and walk over to Nolan. "Hang back, Nolan. You need to watch your back." Tim said, Nolan stopping to talk to the other four officers.

"Oh, I'll be miles from the action." Nolan shrugged.

"No, Tim means with Harper. Now, Grey's put you in a bad position. She's a land mine waiting to go off. So if you find yourself in a jam, text Officer Lawrence and Chen," Hunter gestures between herself, Grant, Tim and Lucy. "We'll be there." She said.

"Thank you." Nolan said.

"Don't go all emotional on me. Training rookies is a sacred duty, and it bothers me when cops don't treat it that way." Tim said, he and Hunter left.

Grant and Lucy hung around. "Just be safe." Lucy said to Nolan.

"Let's go, Chen." Tim said.

"Grant, lets move." Hunter said. The two of them left and Nolan followed where Nyla went.

***

Nyla and Nolan were listening to the conversation 

"Nice. No serial numbers?" Shaky asked.

"Yeah." Corkscrew replied.

"And they're $250 apiece?"

"That's the deal."

"Can you get 100 more?"

"Sure. I got 'em close by, as long as you got the cash."

"I'll text my guy."

"They're upping the buy. Hold position." The SWAT leader states.

"Who's the buyer?" Nolan asked.

"Most likely, it's one of two local arms dealers, Osito or Brooker."

"Osito. The Teddy Bear?" Nolan asked.

"It's his nickname, I assume it's meant to be ironic. Between those two guys, they provide 60% of the guns from here to Fresno." Nyla said.

"Sounds like firsthand knowledge. You work undercover on that before the task force?" Nolan asked.

"You've been doing your homework." Nyla states.

"Need to know who I'm riding with."

"Hmm. And? Don't you think you know me now?" Nyla asked.

"Oh, I don't think even you know you." Nolan said.

"Whatever. That's a bunch of crap." Nyla huffed.

"Ever considered therapy?"

"What makes you think I'm not already in therapy?" Nyla asked, looking at Nolan.

"You ever thought about more therapy?" Nyla shoots Nolan a look at that question.

***

"So, how'd you get tickets this late for the Dodgers game?" Tim gives Lucy a confused look. "The game's tonight, how'd you get the tickets, if you got them earlier you'd've told Hunter the day you got them." Lucy added.

"Bruno's an old friend of the coach, he always sends Bruno tickets even though he doesn't live in LA, so he sends them to me or Hunter, he sent them to me as a thank you for his birthday present." Tim shrugged.

"You're that close with the Lopezes brother that you can send him a present?" Lucy asked.

"Boot, I'm that close to all their immediate family, I play poker with their mom whenever Hunter drags me to family gatherings, who always tries to set me up with Angela and Hunter's cousins or Hunter herself." Tim states. Lucy hums. "What?" Tim asked.

"So, it's Hunter's mother as well that can see it." Lucy said.

"Boot, shut it." Tim snapped.

"Yes sir." Lucy replied.

"Let this be the only time you and I have a personal conversation." Tim added.

"Noted." Lucy said, grabbing her phone and texting Grant.

***

Grant's phone chimed and he grabbed it out, seeing a message from Lucy, he opened it.

Lucy Chen: Apparently the Lopezes Mom tries to set Hunter and Tim up and if that doesn't work she tries to set Tim up with one their cousins.

Grant Lawrence: How'd you know?

Lucy Chen: I asked Tim about how he got Dodgers tickets this late seeing as the game's tonight and he explained.

Grant Lawrence: I assume it's that Bruno's an old friend of the coach.

Lucy Chen: Yeah.

"That Daisy?" Hunter asked noticing her partner texting someone.

"No, Lucy." Grant said.

"Whatcha talking about?" Hunter questioned.

"Nothing." Grant said, typing a message to Lucy and turning his phone off, Hunter narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously but didn't say anything.

***

"Look, man, is the money coming or not?"

"He'll be here."

"This is taking too long. If Osito wants more, set up another buy."

"All right, deal is done. Moving in. Perimeter units, lock down all traffic." The SWAT leader said.

"What? No. No. Hold that order. Stay in position." Nyla said into the radio.

"Who the hell is this?!" The SWAT leader asked pissed off.

"Harper. Osito is a must-catch. If we roll up on these guys now, we will spook him." Nyla said.

"He's not coming, and we can't risk losing these two." The SWAT leader said.

"Yeah, but –" Nyla started saying.

"Detective Harper, this is not your call. Respect the chain of command and your fellow officers, or I will fire you, golden ticket or not." Grey interrupts.

"Team one, move in." The SWAT Leader said.

Nyla puts the shop ready to drive. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We're on perimeter." Nolan saind wondering what she was doing.

"I am not gonna let these guys blow my operation." Nyla snapped.

"It is blown! The only thing you're gonna accomplish charging in there is having Grey fire you. And while I would love to be rid of you, I am positive you are here for a reason. That golden ticket could have gotten you any detail anywhere. You picked this. So I have to believe that reason is important too important to blow it because of a bruised ego." Nolan said.

Nyla slammed the steering wheel in anger but backs down anyway and allows the operation to be blown.

"Hands up! Don't move! Don't move! Do not move!"

"Put your hands behind your back. Hold on."

"Keep still, keep still, keep still."

"Look, if you're expecting a thank you -" Nyla was saying.

"Oh, I know better than that." Nolan interrupted.

"Hands on the car!"

"Keep your hands up. This one's clean."

Nolan sees someone driving towards the dealers and then notices SWAT and turns around, Nyla's looking outside her window. "Did you see that?" He asked.

"What?" Nyla asked.

"That blue Mustang just made a U-turn. That driver looked scared. That could be Osito bringing the money." Nolan suggested.

"Or it could be some random guy that realized he left his phone at the store." Nyla states.

"No, the look on that driver's face, when he saw the cops? That's our guy."

"What did he look like?" Nyla asked.

"Hispanic, mid-30s, full face, brown hair, scar over his left eye." Nolan states.

"That's Osito. Don't call it in. SWAT already has their bust. This guy is mine." Nyla put the shop in drive and Nolan texted Grant and Lucy.

***

Lucy's phone chimed and she looked at it. "They're on Osito, but Harper's enforcing radio silence."

"Tell me he invited you to track his phone." Tim said.

"Yep.' Lucy states.

Tim grabbed the radio. "7-Adam-19. We're Code 4 on the scene. Breaking down the perimeter.

"7-Adam-20. We're also Code 4 on the scene. Breaking down the perimeter." Hunter said over the radio before texting Tim.

Hunter Lopez: Can I track your cell?

Tim Bradford: Yep, Chen's tracking Nolan's, he gave her permission.

"Hunter's tracking my cell, she and Lawrence are gonna follow us." Tim said and started driving.

***

"Where is he headed? He can't live here." Nolan comments as they drive through the streets following Osito.

"With any luck, he's leading us to his home base." Nyla replied.

"I'd feel a lot better with backup." Nolan said.

"Nah, that's too conspicuous. Long as he doesn't know we're following him, there's no telling where he might lead us." Nyla replied.

"You are aware we're in a black and white?" Nolan asked.

"I know." Nyla replied, as if she'd just remembered.

***

They watch as Osito drives through a gate and Nyla parks the shop. "So, what now?" Nolan asked.

Nyla grabbed her phone out and opened her location, she showed it to Nolan. "It's perfect. There's only one way in or out." Nyla states.

Nolan and Nyla get out of their shop and Nyla opens the trunk and gets the guns out.

Nolan grabbed his radio out. "7-Adam-15. We got a 417 at Diamond Lock Storage. 19901 Jefferson Boulevard. Requesting backup and airship. Code 2 High."

"Feel better?" Nyla asked, handing a gun over to Nolan.

"No," Nolan replied prepping his gun. "Let's go," Nyla and Nolan go over to one of the men who's standing guard. "Don't move. Lay down flat on your stomach. Hands out to your sides, palms up," Nolan cuffs a man to the fence and searches him, finding a gun, he takes out the magazine checks the gun and tosses it aside and puts the mag in his duty belt, before he grabs the rifle Nyla gave him. "Ready?" Nolan asked, Nyla nods and the two move forward.

"LAPD!" Nyla yelled, she fires her gun and hits Osito in the shoulder, knocking him down the two other men who are there take cover and fire, Nyla fires on them when her gun stops working, she checks it out and yelled to Nolan. "Malfunction!"

"Get covered." Nolan said, Nyla took cover to try and fix her gun when Nolan's ran out of ammo so he had to use his handgun, Osito gets up and shoots at Nolan, hitting him in the shoulder and knocking him to the ground.

Nyla fires at Osito when Hunter and Grant arrive, followed shortly by Tim and Lucy, the shops get fired at and the four of them get out, Hunter covers for Nyla. "Covering! Covering!" She yelled.

Nyla moved in. "Moving in," Tim, Lucy, Hunter and Grant continued firing on them, with Nyla also firing as she stood in front of Nolan, she looked down at him. "Get up! Get up!" She yelled quickly, Nolan groaned and took cover behind Tim's shop.

Nyla joined him. "Hey, let's go! Let's go!" One of the men yelled.

"Are you okay?" Nyla asked, as Nolan placed a hand on his shoulder, wincing in pain.

"The vest caught it." Nolan said.

"Looks like you've got a little warrior in you, after all." Nyla comments.

"And you've got a little guardian." Nolan said.

"Hey, watch your mouth," Nyla said jokingly, they hear the LAPD helicopters arriving and stand up ready to fire if need be. "Osito! It's over! Put your weapons down and come out with your hands high." Nyla called out.

Osito and his crew slide their guns away from them on the ground, all of them stand up or come out from where they had taken cover, Nyla, Nolan, Tim, Hunter, Grant and Lucy all make their way over. "Hands on the car!" Nolan yelled.

"Turn around! Get down on your knees! Hands behind your head!" Tim yelled.

Hunter, Grant and Lucy were covering for them as other officers arrived and took them off their hands. "Got him."

They all look over at the guns Osito had and Nyla looked at Nolan. "Now, doesn't that make it all worthwhile?" She asked.

"No," Nyla looks at him. "But it helps." Nolan said.

***

Nyla's in Grey's office getting yelled at while, Tim, Hunter, Grant, Lucy and Nolan are watching, Tim and Hunter sitting on a desk, Grant leaning against a desk, Lucy was standing beside Nolan, who was also sitting on a desk. "Protect and Serve. You can't throw a dead cat around you without -" They heard Grey yelling.

Hunter looked over at Nolan. "What do you think?" She asked.

"That I'm glad he's not yelling at me like that?" Nolan replied.

Hunter chuckled, standing up with the others when Nyla and Grey came out the office, Grey standing behind Nyla. "Say it." He snapped.

"I'm sorry that my recklessness put you in jeopardy. My job is to train you, not to chase after my own windmills." Nyla deadpanned.

"And?" Grey asked.

"If you would like to file a formal complaint, I will not hold it against you in any way." Nyla added.

"No, I'm good. But when you're ready, I'd like you to tell me why you're here." Nolan states.

"I wouldn't hold your breath." Nyla replied and Grey goes back into his office.

"And for the record, technically, Five Percent should be your nickname." Nolan added.

"Is that it?" Nyla asked.

"Yes. No. Have a nice evening." Nolan said and Nyla walked off.

"You always have to push it." Tim comments.

Hunter places a hand on Tim's arm and he turned around to look at her.  "Hey, we've got a game to get to but I need to call someone first and apologise for overstepping my bounds." Hunter said to Tim, glancing at her watch.

"Do I want to know?" Tim asked.

"Doubtful, but I'll tell you later." Hunter shrugged and walked off to get changed, Tim follows before heading to the men's locker room.

***

Hunter walked into reception at the station, she was wearing street clothes, Tim was hanging around, waiting for her. "Ms. Arnoux. Thank you for coming in." Hunter said, sitting down across from her.

"I didn't like the way we left it. I shouldn't have unloaded on you like that." Katrin said.

"I was completely in the wrong. I made your situation about me, my own issues. It was insensitive, and I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do to help you through this process, I'm here." Hunter said.

"Your own issues?" Katrin asked.

"I got into a fight with a girlfriend in high school. We were at a party with my sister and her boyfriend. I left. She got drunk, crashed into a telephone pole and a tree and then flipped her car. It was a closed casket. After that, I went into a dark place, and I guess Alice's guilt just triggered something in me," Hunter sighed, Angela's boyfriend in high school had the same thing happen to him but that was because he was struggling with the fact that his sister died. "Really, if you need anything, here's my card." Hunter handed Katrin her card.

Hunter stands up to walk away. "Wait," Hunter turned back around and sat down again as Katrin explained. "When it happened, I thought she had taken everything from me. But the truth is my life is amazing. I have a husband who I met at physical therapy and two kids who are my whole world. I've gained so much more than I've lost. Can I tell them that - the DA? Will it help?" She asked.

"Yeah. A statement from you could mean the difference between hard time and treatment. That's very generous of you." Hunter said.

"No. It costs me nothing." Katrin said, Hunter smiled and Katrin wheeled herself out before joining Tim and the two walked out together.

***

It's day and Nyla's parked outside of a school watching as father, Donovan Town leads his daughter Lila Town to the entrance, Donovan is Nyla's ex husband and Lila is her daughter.

Donovan looks over and notices Nyla watching, she quickly dips out of his line of sight, Donovan crouches down and hugs Lila. "Have a good day at school. Bye!" Lila runs inside the school and Donovan crosses the street to speak to Nyla. "What are you doing here? You can't see her without supervision." He snapped at her.

"I know. I know. Look, my lawyer's filing a petition." Nyla said.

"You're late on child support and you can afford a lawyer?" Donovan scoffed.

Nyla reaches over and grabbed an envelope and hands it to Donovan. "Here's half. I-I was gonna mail it to you this morning, but - I'm getting a pay bump at work. So I should be able to get it squared in a few weeks." She said.

"Whatever." Donovan shrugged.

"I'm also petitioning for joint custody. 50-50." Nyla added.

"And who will look after her when you disappear for months at a time?" Donovan scoffed.

"That's over. I'm back working patrol. Regular hours. Right here in the neighborhood." Nyla said.

Donovan leans down and looks at Nyla carefully. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm getting there. And then I'm getting her back." Nyla said and she drove off.

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This was a really good episode.

This chapter was just to introduce Nyla but she and Nolan (like Angela and Jackson) won't always been written into the chapter, obviously they'll still be part of the show, you know what i mean?