2x14: Casualties

***

"I'm just saying, your living situation isn't made for a dog. Where'd you even get him anyway?" Tim asked looking at the photo that Hunter was showing him in the briefing room while they waited for Grey to come in.

"Lucy, she fostered Kojo a few weeks ago but she can't look after him and Jackson didn't like him, seeing as he ruined Jackson's stuff. Besides, I was thinking you could take him." Hunter said.

"Uh, no." Tim shook his head.

"Come on, he's so cute." Hunter gushed.

Tim just rolled his eyes and Hunter rolled her eyes, placing her phone away as Grey walked into the room with Armstrong.

"All right. Let's get started. First things first, let's welcome Detective Armstrong back from vacation, huh?" Grey moved aside and allowed Armstrong to speak.

"Ah, yeah, thank you. Okay, look," Armstrong clears his throat. "Before I get started with the morning's business, I just want to thank everyone again for all their hard work in the Rosalind Dyer case. That was a... difficult time," Hunter and Lucy looked down avoiding Armstrong's gaze. "Now... you all have printouts of the latest developments from the detective tables. But I want to go over one item. A federal operation is launching in Filipino Town, so until further notice, all marked units are to stay clear of Alvarado, between Montrose and the 101."

"Anything we should be aware of?" Tim asked.

"Not according to the FBI, but, you know, they ain't big on sharing, so if you need to contact anybody in that area, run them through LA CLEAR and notify your supervisor immediately." Armstrong said.

"Officer Nolan. Can you enlighten us on what LA CLEAR is?" Grey asked.

"Yes, sir --" Nolan's wristband starts beeping.

"I'm sorry, you need to get that?" Grey asked.

Nolan turns the beeping off. "Uh, it's not my phone, sir. That's just a fitness tracker. I have it set to alert me when my heart rate increases rapidly. I'm tracking my stress. Just learning how to manage it better." Nolan said.

"Do I stress you out, Officer Nolan?" Grey asked amused.

"No, sir," the watch beeps and then Nolan stops it. "LA CLEAR is the largest deconfliction database for law enforcement in the west." Nolan replied.

"And what does that mean, Officer West?" Grey asked.

"Every federal, state, and local covert operation is monitored there to prevent duplication of efforts or blue-on-blue situations." Jackson said.

"And can you access LA CLEAR, Officer Chen?" Grey asked.

"No, sir. For security reasons, all access is reserved for higher-level officers." Lucy replied.

"Bottom line, this is a very serious tool, and we don't call unless the stakes are high. Anything less, figure it out. Okay, people, that's it. Oh. And if anyone has advice for Officer Nolan on how to deal with stress... ...I'm sure he'd appreciate suggestions." Grey said.

The squad laughs; Nolan looks chagrined.

***

"You got to find a way to turn your brain off -- lift weights, play ball, paint a picture. Doesn't matter what it is, just that you focus completely." Tim said giving his advice to Nolan standing beside Hunter, Grant and Lucy in the bullpen.

"Gun range, it's a great place to let off steam." Hunter replied before walking off with Grant.

Nolan nodded and walked off while Tim and Lucy went to their shop.

***

"Giving Hunter a dog was a bad idea." Tim said watching as Lucy packed the trunk.

"I don't remember her or I asking you." Lucy replied.

"Well tough, Hunter's my best friend who's still distracted and afraid after her kidnapping, adding a dependent's only going to make things harder for her." Tim said.

"Oh, yeah? How 'bout a cute, snuggly dependent?" Lucy asked, showing Tim a photo of Kojo.

"I've already seen a photo of him." Tim replied.

Lucy chuckled and walked to passenger side of the shop while Tim got into the drivers seat. "So, did Hunter tell you who's watching the dog while she's at work?" Tim questioned.

"Apparently she paid a neighbour." Lucy said.

"And is Lawrence find with it?" Tim asked.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know."

***

"You should've spoken to me, Lopez." Grant snapped at her while they were patrolling.

Hunter winced. "Last name, you're pissed.

"No kidding, that dog isn't trained." Grant ground out.

Hunter sighed and looked over at Grant. "Look, I'm trying to convince Tim to take him, seeing as Tim actually owns a house and can allow Kojo outside, but it's hard to convince Tim to do something." Hunter replied.

***

Lucy and Tim parked outside a house and walked towards the front gate. "Just face it -- you don't like dogs." Lucy said.

"Wrong. I love dogs. I just think they're a lot of responsibility, and I'm not sure Hunter's ready for it normally yes but she's still got PTSD from her kidnapping and therefore is still trying to work through everything, like I said earlier a dependent will just distract her. And you're certainly not ready to look after a dog." Tim replied.

Lucy laughed. "Oh! But you were when you were my age?" She asked.

Tim looked at her. "At your age, younger actually, Hunter and I'd done four tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, the second, third and fourth in charge of a squad of 10 soldiers with Hunter as my second in command." He replied.

"Show-off." Lucy muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Tim asked.

"Hm? Nothing," Lucy knocks on door. "Police."

A man, Barry, opens the door, well-dressed, looking annoyed. "You're too late. It's gone." Barry said.

"It's?" Lucy asked.

"We got a call about a Peeping Tom?" Tim asked.

Barry led the cops into the house. "Wendy loves to tan in the morning. Last few days, this drone has shown up hovering overhead, spying on her." He said.

"Well, we can put out an alert, but drones can be tricky to track down." Tim replied.

"It's bad enough guys are constantly hitting on her whenever we go out. Now she's not even safe in her own home? You guys don't believe me? There's like a gravitational pull Wendy has no control over."

Wendy has been lying on a lounge chair in the back yard, in her swimsuit; she comes sashaying over to where the police and Barry are talking. "Honey?"

"They say they can't do anything about the drone." Barry said.

Wendy gives Tim a brilliant, come-on smile. "I'm sure that's not true. The next time I tan... you can come watch."

"Ma'am --" Tim started to say.

"Are you hitting on my wife?" Barry asked.

"What? No!" Tim denied, even Lucy knew that it wasn't Tim, it was Wendy.

"Get the hell out of my house!" Barry yelled.

"Sir --" Tim started to say.

"Now!" Barry yelled, Tim and Lucy shared a look and walked out quickly.

"I really want to tell Hunter that woman hit on you just to gauge her reaction." Lucy said with a smirk as she and Tim walked out to their patrol car, Tim rolled his eyes at her. "He seems insecure about his marriage to that bimbo, thinking you were flirting with her when it's her flirting with you." Lucy added.

"I don't think the guy wants a psychoanalysis by a cop." Tim replied as they drove away.

***

Hunter was in the bullpen on her phone to her neighbour when she ran into Tim. "No. Yeah, I-I'll be right there." She said before hanging up.

"Right where?" Tim asked curiously.

"My apartment." Hunter replied.

"Not unless it's a crime scene." Hunter just gave Tim a look. "Fine, only 'cause it's our lunchbreak, so lets go."

***

Tim and Hunter arrive at her apartment to find everything torn around, Hunter looked at Tim. "Can you please take the damn dog?" She asked.

"Maybe." Tim replied.

Kojo runs over to Hunter and jumps up at her. She huffed and then yelled. "Sit!" Kojo complies and sits down at Hunter's feet.

"Never mind, you can keep the dog." Tim said, knowing that Hunter could train him.

Hunter scoffed. "I live in a two bedroom apartment, you live in a house that you own, you can allow him outside." She replied, walking over to check Grant's room. "Thank god, he hasn't left a mess in here."

"So, does this mean I don't have to say anything?" Tim asked, taking a photo of the messy apartment.

"I'd rather you didn't and I'd love for you to help me clean all this up." Hunter replied.

"That's not part of my job description." Tim replied.

"It's our lunchbreak." Hunter stared at Tim intensely, trying to get him to agree, but Tim didn't back down. "Fine, he's going to Daisy's tonight, help me after shift." Hunter said.

"Deal." Tim agreed and the two returned back to the station and went back onto patrol.

***

Hunter, Grant, Tim and Lucy pull up in their respective shops and get out. "Suspect in custody. Code 4." Hunter said into her radio.

"Hands behind your back, interlace your fingers," Nolan searches Mitch's pockets. "Got a knife."

"Yep." Lucy said taking the knife.

Nolan continues frisking, and discovers Mitch's prosthetic leg. "Prosthetic leg?" He asked.

"Yes, sir." Mitch said.

"That's a military knife. You lose your leg in combat?" Nolan asked.

"Yes, sir. Got in an argument with an I.E.D." Mitch said.

Nolan turns him around and Tim and Hunter see Mitch's face for the first time. "Mitch?" Hunter and Tim asked in sync, both of them surprised at seeing an old Army mate.

"Sarge and Sarge?" Mitch asked seeing both Tim and Hunter, Tim was the Staff Sergeant at the time and Hunter was just a normal Sergeant and Tim's second in command.

"Sarge?" "Sarge?" Lucy and Grant asked at the same time, Grant knew Hunter was in the Army but didn't actually know what ranking she was seeing as she avoided talking about the Army unless needed.

"You two know this guy?" Nolan asked.

"I was his squad leader in Afghanistan." Hunter and Tim shared a look. "Lopez was my second in command." Tim said.

***

Tim and Lucy are processing Mitch, Grant and Hunter are standing nearby. "What happened? You had a fiancée in San Diego, a job lined up through Wounded Warriors." Hunter said.

"What can I say? I... moved on," Hunter and Tim lead Mitch to the holding cells. "You tell me what I'm being charged with?" Mitch asked.

"Resisting arrest, for starters. The rest is up to the D.A." Hunter replied.

"Right. And how exactly did the cops end up in my hotel room?" Mitch questioned.

"She can't tell you that." "I can't tell you that." Hunter and Tim said at the same time.

"Yeah? But you can." Mitch said, turning to Tim.

"I-I can't. Be in violation of the victim's privacy." Tim said.

"Victim? What happened to Joe? Is Joe all right?" Mitch asked.

"Look, I've already said too much." Tim replied.

Mitch looked between Hunter and Tim. "Is he dead?"

"Detectives will come speak with you shortly. Mitch, inside." Hunter said. Mitch goes into the holding cell.

Tim, Hunter, Grant and Lucy walk away. "He doesn't seem to like you two very much." Lucy points out.

Hunter and Tim shared a look. "We're the reason he lost his leg." Hunter said.

***

Armstrong and Nolan are interviewing Mitch. Tim and Hunter are watching from Observation.

"You guys don't really think I killed him, right?"

"We don't know anything. That's why we're talking to you."

"The M.E. said that Joe died from internal decapitation. He suffered spinal trauma from an acute compression injury." Armstrong said.

"Someone who knew how snapped his neck."

"It wasn't me." Mitch denied.

"Where'd the money under the mattress come from?"

"Couple of days ago, Joe comes to me, says he found a fortune in cash in this building he snuck into, all right? Millions of dollars stacked high on pallets."

"Millions?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah. And a bunch of machinery guarded by some heavy-duty guys with serious weaponry."

"But he managed to steal some of it. Why share the money with you?" Armstrong asked.

"'Cause we were tight. He's a fellow vet."

"Then you got a taste of the rich life, decided you wanted the rest of the money for yourself?"

"He only took 10 grand. We burned through half of that in a day. Look, I tried to tell him not to go back there for more. He got lucky the first time. And I should've gone with him. 'Cause he would've gone with me." Mitch said.

***

Nyla opens the door and gestures for Armstrong and Nolan to come out. They exit Interrogation to find Nyla, Hunter and Tim all waiting for them. "So, the money we found in Joe's hotel room was counterfeit." Nyla said.

"Are you sure?" Armstrong asked.

"It's the best fake I've seen, but it's definitely a fake. He say where it came from?" Nyla asked.

"A building downtown. Said there's millions more." Tim said.

Armstrong sticks his head back into the room where Mitch is sitting. "The machines Joe saw, could they have been printers?"

"Yeah." Mitch replied.

***

Armstrong, Nolan, Nyla, Tim, Lucy and Hunter are preparing to enter the building where Mitch said Joe found the money. "Looks abandoned." Nolan commented.

"It's probably intentional. If I were printing millions of dollars, I'd want to stay below the radar." Hunter replied.

"All right, look sharp, you guys. If these guys are ex-military, they're gonna put up a fight." Armstrong said.

***

The team enters the warehouse to find...nothing. The place has been cleared out. "Not exactly the counterfeit money-making operation we were sold on." Armstrong comments.

"Still believe your Army buddy's story?" Nyla asked Tim and Hunter.

Tim and Hunter both nodded. "Yeah. We do." Tim said.

"They must've cleared out of here after Joe's murder." Hunter said.

Nolan picks up a scrap of paper off the floor. "You find something?" Nyla asked.

"Yeah," Nolan showed the others the paper he found. "Uh, the name of a security company. But I know this. I've seen it somewhere. This morning when I was canvassing, it was on the side of the van. Um, the worker with the van was fixing the camera across the street from where Joe was killed. Uh, he said the camera had been down for a week." He said.

"Did you get a name?" Armstrong asked.

"No. I thought it was a dead end. I have him on body cam." Nolan pulls up the video showing the service guy as the others gather round to watch. "Okay. That's him."

"He must've taken down the camera so we couldn't trace it. We should run his face through the database." Lucy suggested.

Grey's voice came over Hunter's radio. "Detective Lopez. Go to channel nine."

"Hey, sir. We are here. Uh, we're in the building. It's empty. We're about to call in T.I.D." Hunter said.

"Negative. You're to exit the building immediately and come back to the station." Grey replied.

"Sir?"

"Shut it down and get back here -- now."

"What the hell's going on?" Nolan asked the group rhetorically.

***

Hunter, Tim, Lucy, Nolan, Nyla and Armstrong were in the briefing room with Grey. "Got a call from the Chief. Your search warrant rang an alarm way up the food chain." Grey explained.

"So we're just supposed to walk away from a murder investigation?" Nolan asked.

"No, but you can't follow it down this path." Grey replied.

"And what if that path leads us to our killer?" Tim asked. Grey shakes his head; he has no answer.

"Helpful," Hunter drawled sarcastically. "So, what are we into, Sarge?" She asked.

"I don't know. And I pushed hard to find out. But this comes from on high, and it's non-negotiable. Let's take the night. We'll regroup in the morning. That's it." Grey then leaves the room.

Tim turns to Armstrong. "Hey, this isn't right."

"No. But it's a direct order." Armstrong leaves the room.

"So, that's it? We walk away?" Nolan asked.

"If we're smart." Hunter replied.

"That's...not a yes." Lucy said.

"What do you two think?" Nyla asked Hunter and Tim, the only other senior officers in the room with her, seeing as Nolan and Lucy were rookies.

"That this is clearly a federal operation and that we don't have enough information to know how to proceed." Hunter said.

"So we get more." Nyla said.

Tim turned to Lucy. "How do we get insight on a federal operation, Boot?"

"Uh... we call LA CLEAR." Lucy replied.

"Exactly." Tim said.

"You sure?" Nyla asked.

"Yeah. I owe Mitch that much." Tim makes a call on his cell.

"You remember the personal questions they ask you for clearance, right?" Nyla asked.

"Yeah," Tim replied and then he looked at the others self-consciously. "Maybe you should all... step outside." He said.

"Not a chance." Hunter said with a grin.

"I think you sh," Tim was saying when the person on the other end answered. "Yeah, hi. Hello? Uh, this is Officer Tim Bradford, LAPD, badge 34831. Yeah. Go ahead. Bethesda. Mm. Left clavicle. Uh, "Lady Marmalade." Uh, tarantulas. Uh, yeah, it's, uh, "The Princess Bride.""

Hunter looked up at those responses, The Princess Bride was her favourite movie, tarantulas were her favourite kind of spider, Lady Marmalade was the name of her pet tarantula that she convinced her Abuelo to buy her for her 12th birthday, she also broke her left clavicle falling out of a tree after trying to grab her brother's kite at 13.

""The Princess Bride"?" Lucy, Nyla and Nolan all shared a confused look, wondering what the questions were.

"Yes, uh, ma'am, I'd like to run an address. 214 Mill Street, Los Angeles. Okay, thank you." Tim said and he hung up putting his phone away.

"Well?" Lucy asked.

"They'll get back to us within the hour." Tim said, sharing a look with the Lopezes, knowing most of those answers were related to Hunter somehow.

***

Grant having opted out of the whole thing that was going on had arrived home to get ready for his date with Daisy only to find the apartment completely trashed. "What the hell?" He asked, looking down at Kojo who'd been put in his crate.

***

"I'm sorry." Hunter said walking down the hallway on the phone with Grant. "I meant to call you earlier and it was supposed to be tidied up before you got home but things got a little crazy." Hunter said.

"He's trashed our apartment, Hunter, our entire apartment, even the bathroom." Grant yelled over the phone. "Oh, he's destroyed your shampoo." Grant said.

"I'll just buy more later. Look, Grant this is what happens when you have a dog." Hunter said, trying to calm her friend down.

"No, I don't have a dog, Hunter! You do! I got to go and see what's salvageable in the bathroom and main apartment area." Grant sighed.

"Wait. Um... Uh... will you take him for a walk?" Hunter hears a click and dial tone. "Grant? H-Hello?" Hunter sighed and placed her phone away, joining Lucy, Nyla and Nolan in the breakroom.

***

Tim walked into holding and opened Mitch's cell. "All right. You're free to go."

"Does that mean you caught the guys that killed Joe?" Mitch asked.

"Not yet."

"But you found the money?"

"No. It was gone. W-We're working late." Tim said.

"S-So what now?" Mitch asked.

"Now you go home," Mitch gives Tim a look. "I'm -- I'm sorry. I-I can help you find a bed and a shelter." He said.

"You really want to do something for me? You find out who killed Joe, all right? He was a good guy. He served his country with honor. He didn't deserve to go out like that." Mitch said.

Tim's phone started ringing. "I-I'm sorry," he grabbed it out of his pocket. "I have to answer this. She'll escort you out. You take care of yourself," the cop in holding escorted Mitch out as Tim answered his phone. "Yeah, it's Tim Bradford."

"LA CLEAR code 9273." The man on the other end said.

***

Tim joins Lucy, Nyla, Hunter, and Nolan and closes the door to the breakroom. "It's a D.I.A. operation."

"Defense Intelligence Agency? That's national security." Nyla said.

"LA CLEAR tell you anything else?" Nolan asked.

"Just a contact name -- Colonel Norman Jangus." Tim said.

"What the hell is a national security agency doing counterfeiting money?" Lucy asked.

"This is way bigger than we thought. We should take the night, like Grey said, and see how we are feeling in the morning." Hunter said.

"Hunter's right." Tim said.

"Conducting an off-the-books operation is high-risk on a good day. And this ain't a good day." Nyla agreed.

***

Nolan is on his laptop, looking through the data from the fitness wristband and then he goes onto google and searches something up. 

There's a knock on the door. Nolan opens it to find the man who had been "working" on the camera. "Hey, pal. We need to talk. Invite me in?" Jangus asked.

"How 'bout you tell me who you are first?" Nolan replied.

"Right now, I'm your friend, John. And that's a good thing. 'Cause you don't want me as an enemy," Jangus speaks emphatically. "Now invite me in," Nolan allows him and Jangus looks around. "Nice place. Done good work fixing it up. I'd expect no less, based on your history." He comments.

"I see your play -- come in, walk around, assert dominance. Very nice. So, tell me, who is Colonel Norman Jangus?" Nolan asked.

"Oh, a name on a form. Nothing more." Jangus replied.

"But you are D.I.A." Nolan said.

"Yeah, but my team operates in the shadows. We do stuff no one wants to admit." Jangus replied.

"So, why come for me?" Nolan asked.

"'Cause you're the weak link. Bradford served four tours, Harper's taken on cartels, Lopez's also served four tours, taken down cartels and survived a serial killer, and -- and Chen also survived a serial killer. You... built houses. And you always push on the weak link. So... I'm pushing on you." Jangus said.

"What do you want?" Nolan asked.

"To warn you and your little cop buddies. Just...leave this alone. Calling LA CLEAR? Big mistake. Let it be your last." Jangus replied.

"All we want is whoever killed Joe Delacruz." Nolan said.

"The homeless guy? Why?" Jangus asked.

"He was a human being. The man was a soldier. He sacrificed --" Nolan was saying.

"Time-out, time-out," Jangus interrupted. "Let's understand something here. We're on the same team. You, me, Joe? We make sacrifices on the daily to save people's lives. I just do it on a more... global scale than you." He explained.

"And that's why it's okay for you to murder people?" Nolan asked.

"There are casualties in every war. You just really don't want the next one to be you." Jangus gives Nolan a friendly smack on the arm and leaves the house. 

Out of the woodwork come Tim, Harper, Hunter and Lucy, who have been hiding inside and outside the house, Harper and Tim outside, Hunter and Lucy inside. "You get the tracking device on his car?" Nolan asked.

"Yeah. We can follow him wherever he goes." Tim replied.

"Great. Let's hit the road." Lucy said.

"All right." Nolan agreed.

"No. This is a three-person job. Hunter, Harper and I got it from here." Tim said.

"Uh, screw that. You go, we go." Lucy replied.

"That's admirable, really, but if this thing goes sideways, we could face demotion, suspension, even jail." Hunter said.

"I've got a golden ticket. Bradford has an unblemished record. Lopez has a golden ticket and an unblemished record as well," Nyla gestured between herself, Tim and Hunter. "Odds are we can weather the storm. Rookies are at-will employees. They don't even need a reason to fire you." Nyla replied.

"Okay, well, with all due respect, I've been buried alive by a serial killer. This rabbit hole does not scare me." Lucy said.

"I love this job more than I imagined I could. The day I stop giving it my all is the day I walk away." Nolan said.

Hunter, Nyla and Tim all shared a look and relented, Tim turned to the two rookies. "All right. Let's roll. And hope he leads us to the money." Tim said, walking out with Hunter beside him.

***

Tim, Hunter and Lucy cruise in, Hunter was sitting in the backseat, Lucy in the passenger seat and Tim in the drivers seat, in an unmarked vehicle, to park out of sight behind a freight container. "We're in position." Tim said on the radio.

"Copy that." Nyla replied.

"Why are you two the reason Mitch lost his leg?" Lucy asked.

"'Cause Tim and I let him slide on something." Hunter said.

"It doesn't matter what, just that we cut him a break when we shouldn't have, and because we did, he went back out on patrol, got blown up." Hunter and Tim deadpanned.

Lucy chuckled. "That is the most Tim Bradford and Hunter Lopez thing I've ever heard. You two showed humanity. There's nothing to feel guilty about." She said.

"Rules matter, Boot." Tim said, Hunter nodded in agreement.

"Then what the hell are you two doing out here?" Lucy asked.

"Some things matter more." Tim replied.

"Bradford, Lopez, Chen, let's go." Nyla said.

Lucy goes to open her door when Tim stops her. "Hang on. First lesson in black ops," Tim and Hunter carefully and discreetly open their doors. "Make sure the lights don't come on when you open the door." He said.

***

The five cops take turns moving from cover to cover, ending up with all five behind a freight container watching the pallets being loaded. "That's got to be the pallets of money. Waiting to put it on a ship to who knows where." Nolan said.

"Should we call Long Beach PD?" Lucy asked.

"Not yet." Hunter replied.

"Why not?" Lucy questioned.

"Well, for one thing, we don't know if that's the counterfeit money. Pallets are covered." Tim said.

"We've only got one shot at this. We absolutely cannot be wrong." Nyla warned.

"So we confirm it's the counterfeit money before we call in the cavalry, use the arrest to figure out who killed Joe." Nolan states.

"Exactly." Hunter said.

"So, how do we do that?" Nolan asked.

"No idea." Tim replied.

The forklift's engine splutters. "Forklift stopped working." One of the D.I.A men said to Jangus.

"Something's up." Nyla said.

"They're getting a new forklift." Hunter said. Two of the D.I.A. men get in a car and drive away, leaving the forklift largely unattended. 

"Now's our chance. Let's move," the D.I.A team talks indistinctly. "I'll take it from here. Watch my six." Tim said to Hunter.

Tim makes his way behind the D.I.A. team, under a truck, into the container, where he holsters his weapon and lift the cover off the pallet. It is loaded with paper money. Before he can take any further action, he hears a sound and turns to see Jangus and his team with their weapons trained on him. "You'll be dead before you break leather." Jangus warned.

***

The five cops are standing in a line, hands on their heads, covered by the D.I.A. men. "John, what the hell? I warned you." Jangus said.

"You did." Nolan said.

"But you didn't listen." Jangus said.

"I didn't." Nolan agreed.

"I'm disappointed. Thought you were smart."

"No. Smart one's my T.O. She plans for everything." Nolan said.

Nyla extends three fingers and then points at Jangus. A red targeting dot appears on his jacket, Angela has come along and she was put on shooting Jangus just in case even though Tim and Hunter were the winners whenever they went to the gun range for their fire arms requalification.

"That's a .50 cal. I don't need to tell you what that bullet will do to your body." Nyla said.

"Hey, Pettigrew," Hunter raised an eyebrow at the name thinking of The Prisoner of Azkaban and Peter Pettigrew. "Didn't we face this exact scenario down in Colombia?" Jangus asked the red head behind him.

"Yeah. We're all still here." Pettigrew replied.

"'Cause it's a no-win situation. Your shooter turns me into mist, but my guys turn you into organ donors." Jangus said.

"So what we need is a negotiated settlement." Hunter suggested.

"I'm listening." Jangus said.

"One of you killed Joe Delacruz. You give him up, we walk away." Tim said.

"And the money?" Jangus enquired.

"Not our problem." Tim and Hunter replied nonchalantly.

"Tim, Hunter." Lucy said.

"Not our problem." Hunter said through clenched teeth.

"Fine. Pettigrew. Surrender yourself." Jangus said.

"What? After everything we've been through, you're just gonna turn me in like that?" Pettigrew asked sounding offended.

"Your sloppiness jeopardized our operation, so you are being sacrificed for the greater good. But all they have is circumstantial evidence. So keep your mouth shut, listen to the lawyer, and you'll be out in no time." Jangus said to him coldly.

"Yes, sir." Pettigrew hands his weapon to Jangus and goes over to be handcuffed by Lucy.

"We good?" Nyla gestures to Angela, who stands down. "All right, let's get this done." Jangus said.

"What happens with the money?" Nolan asked.

"It'll fund black ops for the next five years. The U.S. government spends billions in covert operations. I bet Bradford and Lopez here watched backpacks full of ghost money being handed out in Afghanistan." Jangus wondered.

Hunter and Tim shared a look and sighed before looking back at the group. "We did." Hunter said.

"See, that money has to be authorized and tracked." Jangus said.

"But counterfeit money doesn't." Nolan realised.

"We didn't print money. We printed freedom. All right, let's wrap this up." Jangus replied and turned to his minions.

***

"Let me get this straight. You all just happened to be taking a stroll on the docks, and Joe Delacruz's killer appears and turns himself in?" Grey's in plain clothes looking like he'd been dragged out of bed, interrogating the cops who brought in Pettigrew.

"Yes, sir." The cops all said at the same time.

"And when the Chief calls me tomorrow screaming --" Grey was saying.

"He won't." Hunter interrupted.

There's a long pause. "I'm going back to bed. The paperwork on this better be spotless." Grey said and walked away.

"Yes, sir." Nyla said and shared a look with the other four cops.

***

The next morning Grant walks into the apartment, that he and Daisy had cleaned up before their date, to find Hunter sitting on the couch alone with a cup of coffee in her hand, looking exhausted. "Where's the dog?" Grant asked.

"Gone." Hunter replied.

"Really?" Grant asked.

"Yeah. It wasn't fair to you, and I'm really not ready for a dog at the moment, I'm still trying to wrap my head around my PTSD and adding a dependent wasn't helpful at all." Hunter said.

"Look. I'm sorry, too. I actually liked Kojo. Did he go to a good home?" Grant asked.

"Yeah. He did." Hunter smiled.

***

Tim had finally accepted adopting Kojo and was walking down the street with him and Lexi to meet up with Mitch. "Who's that?" Mitch asked pointing at Lexi.

"Lexi Smith, he's my legal guardian and so's Hunter." Lexi replied.

"Interesting, nice to meet you." Mitch said.

Lexi nodded and Tim handed her the leash. "Thanks." Lexi took off running with Kojo in the park that they were near.

"So, you caught him?" Mitch asked.

"Yeah." Tim replied.

"Good." Mitch said shortly.

"Yeah. Mitch." Tim hands Mitch a piece of paper.

"What's this?" Mitch asked.

"First Congregational needs a live-in guard. I put in a good word for you. Look, it's not a handout, all right? It's a job -- and a roof over your head." Tim said.

"Thanks." Mitch said.

"You're welcome." They hug.

"It's not yours or Hunter's fault, you know? You know, what happened to me, it's nobody's fault." Mitch said.

"You take care of yourself, Mitch, all right?" Tim told him and Mitch nodded and turned around to walk another way.

Lexi and Kojo come running back, Lexi makes a weird face. "Are you crying?" She asked when she noticed Tim wipe his eye.

"Not a word." He pointed to Lexi and Kojo. Lexi laughed and the two humans and the dog continued walking.

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I really enjoyed this episode.

I'm skipping episode 15 because I don't know how I can add Hunter in so, I'll just skip to episode 16.

Once again, I know nothing about the United States Army, so research was done. I don't even know if a Staff Sergeant has a second in command but that's how I've made it for my story.