5x17: The Enemy Within

***

Grey was in the briefing room at the front with Tim beside him, Tim was in his Metro shirt. "I'll keep it short. This unholy team-up between Elijah's organization and Abril's has had real-world effects on our streets." Grey said.

"Yeah, last night, there was an incident at a cookhouse in Vernon. Seven dead inside and a 10-year-old neighbor caught a stray bullet. The child is out of surgery, but it's still touch-and-go. We started a collection in the break room if you'd like to contribute." Tim speaks up.

"We need to clamp down. Let's start making their costs of doing business untenable. Hit up your C.I.s. Word is, Elijah is orchestrating a large buy. We can't allow that to happen. All right, be safe out there." Grey said and everyone walked out the briefing room.

***

Hunter walked over to Tim in the bullpen. "Hi. Uh, don't hate me." She said.

"What did you do?" Tim asked.

"No, you're supposed to say, "I could never hate you."," Tim gives Hunter a look. "Fine. I got mad at you a few months back." Hunter said.

"What for?" Tim asked.

"I honestly don't remember. But so, that's not important." Hunter said.

Tim stopped walking. "What did you do?" Tim asked her.

"I signed you up to be a "Make a Dream" mentor, and then I totally forgot about it. I'm sorry." Hunter apologized.

"For when?" Tim asked.

"Today. 12-year-old cancer patient Jordy Yates is on his way right now," Tim groaned in annoyance. "What? I -- C-- It's a good thing. Lifting up a sick kid who's having a really hard time. What could you possibly be doing with your day that would be more important than that?" She asked.

"Nice job boxing me in." Tim deadpanned.

"Thank you." Hunter said.

Hunter starts walking off, when Tim stopped her. "Where are you going?" He asked.

"I got to go on patrol." Hunter replied.

"No, no, you and I are gonna be entertaining our "Make a Dream" kid together." Tim deadpanned.

"No." Hunter said, shaking her head.

"What else could you possibly do with your day that's more important?" Tim asked.

"Right. Yep. I should have seen that coming," Hunter pulled her phone out and dialed Grant. "Hey, it's me. You're riding alone. Yes, you were right, Tim has indeed pulled me into babysitting with him. Have fun." Hunter puts her phone away.

***

Hunter and Tim were waiting by the elevator and a father and son stepped out. "Hi, Mr. Yates. I'm Hunter Lopez. This is Sergeant Tim Bradford." Tim and Yates shake hands.

"This is my son, Jordy. Say hi." Yates said looking at Jordy.

"Hi." Jordy said.

"Hi." Tim said smiling at the kid who looked bored, Tim then glared at Hunter.

"Hi." Hunter said ignoring Tim's glare. "Hear you wanna be a cop." She said.

Yates chuckled. "Yeah." Jordy replied.

"Okay, well, you're gonna be hanging with us today." Tim said.

"So, I just -- I come back to pick him up at 3:00?" Yates asked the two cops.

"Yeah." Hunter said nodding her head.

"We'll take good care of him." Tim replied. Yates hugs his son before leaving and then Tim turned to him. "All right, Jordy, so I'm thinking processing. You want to take your fingerprints, get a mug shot taken?" He suggested.

"I guess." Jordy shrugged.

"Okay." The three walked out, Tim and Hunter shared a look never have they met someone this disinterested in a police station or becoming a cop and they raised Lexi since she was twelve and even she was more interested in the station and how it worked than Jordy.

***

Hunter and Tim were with Jordy in processing and he goes against the mugshot wall. "Okay, give me your meanest face." Hunter said.

Jordy responds with a blank face, Hunter looked at Tim and he spoke up. "Okay. Now look miserable," Jordy responds with the same blank look. "Nailed it. Perfect." Tim said sarcastically, Hunter looks over at him smiling as he presses the button on the camera and the camera shutter clicks.

Hunter turned and walked over to Tim and lowered her voice. "It doesn't exactly feel like we're making dreams come true."

"He looks like he hates us." Tim deadpanned.

Hunter chuckled before shaking her head. "No, I don't think it's that. I mean, maybe -- maybe he doesn't like having his picture taken. Maybe he doesn't feel well. I mean, he does have cancer." She said.

"Okay. Let's move on. What's next?" Tim asked her wanting to get the day over and done with.

"Okay," Hunter and Tim turned to Jordy and noticed he'd disappeared. "Oh, ooh. Where did he go? Jordy?" She asked.

***

Hunter and Tim were searching the station looking for Jordy, they were up the stairs near some of the offices. "I can't wait to tell the "Make a Dream" people we lost the kid." Hunter scoffed.

"We didn't lose him. We misplaced him." Tim deadpanned.

"No, Tim, he has cancer, and we lost him." Hunter replied.

"He's probably raiding the snacks." Tim said.

Hunter and Tim were walking down the steps. "How can you be so calm?" Hunter asked, Tim turned to her as they stopped on the platform on the stairs. "What if this was your kid?" She asked.

"You and I both know that 99% of the time the missing kid is playing hide-and-seek and fell asleep under the bed." Tim deadpanned.

Hunter scoffed. "You know what? If -- If we ever lose our kids, I'm gonna need you to take this a lot more seriously." She said.

Tim scoffed. "Hold up, our kids would know better than to pull a stunt like this," the two stopped on another platform on the stairs and looked out into the bullpen. "I mean, look, we're doing great so far." Tim said with sarcasm, Hunter just looks at him with a smile before Tim huffed and walked down the stairs, Hunter just followed him.

***

Hunter and Tim were in the bullpen when they noticed Jordy with Grant and Lucy who'd returned from patrol. "Oh, thank God." Hunter said sighing in relief.

"Hey, I, uh, found this kid wandering around. He said he belongs to you." Grant said.

"Yeah, he's slippery." Tim deadpanned, crossing her arms and glaring at Jordy.

"So, uh, what were you guys talking about?" Hunter asked.

"Uh, he kept asking me what my childhood pet's name was." Grant said frowning. "But I didn't have pets growing up so he started asking Luce what her childhood pet's name was."

"Okay," Hunter turned to Jordy, frowning suspiciously. "Why?" She asked.

"A report for school, about..." Jordy trailed off.

"Pets?" Lucy asked.

"Uh, yeah." Jordy confirmed.

"All right, well, let me know if you have any further questions. Okay?" Lucy chuckles and placed a hand on Grant's arm for a moment.

Tim and Hunter shared a look wondering why Jordy was asking about pet names and then looked at Grant and Lucy. "All right, thanks," Grant and Lucy walked off. "What do you wanna do next? How about the kit room? That's where we get our war bags." Tim said.

"Okay." Jordy said, shrugging.

"Well, do you like dogs? We have some cuties in the K-9 unit." Hunter said.

"Okay." Jordy sighed.

Tim looked at Hunter. "What kind of kid doesn't like dogs?" He asked.

Hunter gives Tim a look. "Tim." She said.

Tim points at the couch. "Know what? Sit down." Jordy sat down on the couch.

Hunter and Tim turned to each other. "Oh, you know what? What about the impound lot?" She suggested.

"Nah, to hear my nephews tell it, it's all about Pokémon and, uh, manga with, like, ghosts on a toilet and stuff like that," Hunter looked at him with a confused expression, he just shrugged. "I don't know," Tim and Hunter turned to where Jordy was supposed to be sitting but he'd disappeared again. "Where'd he go?" Tim asked.

Tim and Hunter start looking around in the area they're standing in. "Oh, no, you're kidding."

Tim and Hunter walk past the kitroom as Nolan enter through another door to it. "This is ridiculous," Tim said before turning to Nolan. "Did you see a little kid come through here?" Tim asked him.

"Oh, no. Sorry." Nolan said.

"No?" Tim asked, he and Hunter continued walking and both stalked past Nolan.

***

Tim and Hunter were looking under a shop in the sallyport, Tim's phone starts ringing and he looks at it, he sighs. "It's Grey." He looks at Hunter.

"Do you think that he knows that we lost the kid twice?" Hunter asked.

Tim answered it. "Yes, sir."

"So, I need you to come over to the D.A.'s office while Metro starts their engines on the op this afternoon."

"Uh, yeah, o-okay. I-I just -- I can't break free at the moment, so I-I'll send Po and Harris, and I'll fold in later." Tim said.

"Got it."

Grey hangs up and Tim pockets his phone, he then looks at Hunter. "I really hope you're enjoying your revenge for pissing you off." Tim deadpanned, still on the ground while Hunter was standing up.

"I'm really not," Tim stands up. "Come on, come on." She and Tim walked out of the sallyport.

***

Tim and Hunter walked over to Jordy having seen him at one of the computers. "What the hell are you doing?" Tim asked.

Jordy snapped his head and body around to face the two cops. "Nothing." He lied.

"Really? Because it looks like you're Googling "how to delete traffic tickets."," Hunter said, peering at the computer before looking at Jordy. "You know you can't do that from these computers. Traffic citations are managed in a completely different office." Hunter said.

"Which is a good thing, because accessing or altering a police computer is a crime." Tim said.

"I'm sorry. My dad said we couldn't afford all the fines, and --" Jordy was saying.

"Uh, your dad put you up to this?" Hunter interrupted.

"Okay, do you even have cancer?" Tim asked.

Hunter hits Tim lightly on the shoulder. "Tim." Tim just looked at her.

Jordy shrugged. "Yeah, that part's true." He deadpanned.

"Okay, but you lied about wanting to be a cop?" Hunter questioned.

"Of course. Cops are wack," Tim and Hunter shared an offended look. "I wanted to be on the sidelines for a Rams game," Hunter nods appreciatively at that. "But he said if I could figure out a way to get rid of his tickets, he'd buy me an e-bike." Jordy explained.

Hunter scoffed. "That's why you were asking about old pet names for potential passwords. That's clever." She said.

"Okay, so, if you have to Google your crime, you're clearly not a hacker. How'd you get into our system?" Tim asked.

Jordy turned around and pulled something off of the computer. "Found this."

Jordy hands it to Tim and Hunter looks over at it. "Really? Did he have to write that down to remember it?" Hunter asked seeing as it was Smitty's username and password.

***

Yates was in interrogation with Tim and Hunter. "What's this about? Where's Jordy?" Yates asked.

"He's down the hall. He's fine." Hunter deadpanned.

"Why am I in here? My kid's sick, and you're treating me like a criminal." Yates complained.

"You are a criminal, Mr. Yates. And you made your son one, too." Tim replied.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Yates lied.

"You forced him to choose a police station for his "Make a Dream" because you thought he could get in and expunge your record. We could charge Jordy for unauthorized computer access and attempted burglary." Hunter said.

"You can't do that. He didn't know. He's got cancer." Yates said.

"Nobody wants to charge Jordy. You, on the other hand..." Hunter trailed off.

"It's just a couple of tickets." Yates was saying.

"It's 37," Hunter deadpanned. "And you used a minor in the commission of a crime. Do you understand that that is a felony?" Hunter asked.

"His medical costs are killing us. And if I didn't get those tickets taken care of, it -- it'd cost me my car and my license. I know I messed up, but I can't go to jail. My family needs me." Yates said.

Hunter looked at Tim who looked at her, they had a silent conversation and Tim's eyes widened but he agreed. "All right, you're not going to jail, Mr. Yates. You're going to "Daddy and Me Traffic School." There's an arcade. Jordy will love it." Tim said.

"I don't know what to say. How can I make it up to you?" Yates asked.

"Be a better father to your son." Tim deadpanned.

***

Later, it was nighttime and the Yates had left, everyone was in the briefing room. "All right, everyone, quiet down. Bring it in." Tim was saying to everyone.

"So, we got intel a little while ago that Elijah Stone has a high-level meeting scheduled for tonight at Van Nuys airfield." Grey added.

"Metro has four units en route to that location as we speak." Tim added.

"Now, thanks to six night-shift officers and a dozen burner phones, Elijah believes that the LAPD will be chasing shadows down at the airfield." Grey spoke up.

"Now, the real target is Elijah's associate Daylin. Feds tracked her entering the country two hours ago. We got eyes on her. She's gonna lead us to that exact meet-up location." Tim said.

"So let's mount up and get 'em." Everyone stands up and gets ready before walking out.

***

Tim and Hunter were in a car outside the shipyard watching as each vehicle rolled into it. Tim grabbed his radio noticing an SUV and truck entering. "Heads up. Black SUV and box truck entering the container yard."

"We have eyes on the exchange. Tim, you ready to move in?"

"Negative. East team's radios just went out. Working on getting them back." Tim replied.

"We can't wait. Roll everyone you can." Grey said.

Tim gave the order and everyone who could go in was sent in to help.

***

Later, Elijah Stone had finally been arrested, Abril was in the wind but at least for the most part Angela and Wesley were safe the next day Hunter walks over to Tim who was sitting at a desk in the bullpen. ""Daddy and Me Traffic School" sounds fun." Hunter comments.

"Yeah. The kid gets $5 in tokens, too." Tim adds.

"It was a really nice gesture, Tim." Hunter said.

Tim glances into the briefing room for a moment before looking back at Hunter. "Look, I wanted to throw that guy in jail for putting his son in that position."

"But?" Hunter asked.

"You're a good influence but we should both thank Lucy, she's rubbed off on you." Tim said.

"Well then we should thank Jake and Caleb for kidnapping me and Lucy then because if they hadn't she and I never would've bonded over our trauma." Tim stared at Hunter, who just laughed. "I'm kidding they're both dead and I'm glad." She said. Tim just rolled his eyes, Hunter looked at him with a smile. "You're gonna make a really great dad one of these days. And you are great Dad to Lexi." She said.

Tim looked at Hunter. "I'm gonna have to if you keep losing our kids everywhere you go," Hunter rolled her eyes and Tim thought for a moment. "Well you never lost Lexi so there's hope for you yet." He shrugged.

"Shut up." Hunter said.

Tim stands up as Grey walked over, Tim looked at him. "Sir, any news on Abril?" He asked.

"Just spoke to Garza. The Feds have everything we got off Elijah's phone. They were in regular contact. So, with any luck, they'll be able to pinpoint the base of her operations." Grey said.

"Okay, with Elijah in jail, all the drug dealers he had under his thumb are gonna be climbing for his crown. It's whack-a-mole, narco edition." Tim deadpanned.

"Yeah, but for now, we can enjoy the win. Tomorrow we'll worry about all that." Grey said.

That's when Lexi walked over to the three of them, she looked right at Hunter. "Your ex sucks."

Hunter, Grey and Tim snapped their heads towards Lexi, Hunter looked confused. "What?" She asked.

Lexi scowled. "Chris Sanford, your ex-boyfriend, he found out I'm your daughter," she points between Tim and Hunter. "And he lost it, I pepper sprayed him." She deadpanned before walking out.

Hunter shook her head with a bemused expression. "Uh, give me a minute." She said before following Lexi out.

Tim and Grey shared a look. "I'm gonna go with her." Tim said and he walked out, Grey just walked to his office, shaking his head.

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I finally mentioned Lucy softening Hunter, so I had to just mention Jake and Caleb somehow.

Next episode is the doppelganger/documentary one which I'm looking forward to writing.

Isabel appears in episode 19 and I admit I like her which is why in my story she's still in contact with Hunter, Tim and Lexi.

Hope you enjoy.