"Why can't I do the driving this time?" Sammy complained in the back where he sat next to Trish, her hands handcuffed together and and her mouth gagged, preventing her from speaking or screaming. "James is supposed to be the one on babysitting duty!"

"That's Carter to you!" Carter adjusted his dark sunglasses using the rear-view mirror. "Man, how many times do we gotta tell you this? Carl asked me to drive us some place where we can interrogate this chick. She's a mobster princess, man!"

This earned an annoyed grunt from Trish, wiggling in her seat. The last thing she'd planned was to end up as a hostage to a group of cops doing their jobs quite terribly, not that she expected much from them.

Growing up, she had always been taught not to trust the police too much, even way before she knew of her father's real job. The black community and law enforcement had a long and troubling history which heavily influenced their dynamics 'til this day. Trish was there when Colin had gotten the talk from their parents (unfortunately, there was more than one), both still just kids, but already learning the harsh truth about the world they lived in.

Seeing Agent Carter and Inspector Lee in this career path surprised her, but what was even more interesting for Trish was the fact that they seemed highly invested in their jobs, doing the work but still joking around together. The duo also had very different personalities, one being super energetic and out there while the other seemed more cool and focused, but they somehow came together in the end to make some sort of team and it worked out.

In any other circumstances, it would make Trish happy to see such an unlikely pair get along, but Carter and Lee's friendship only reminded her of her relationship with Han and it wasn't something she wanted to think about at the moment. Especially not after the things she'd said to him the other night...

Sitting at her right, Sammy carefully studied her, as if he was trying to recall if he'd met her before. Trish shot him an odd look to point out that he was making her uncomfortable, but he just kept staring at her, unbothered.

In the passenger's seat next to the driver, Lee was nose-deep in a large map of the road that Carl had given them in order to get to the place where he felt it was safest for a proper interrogation. Lee already had his own destination in mind, but Carter trusted Carl a lot and he wanted to please his old friend, so he begrudgingly went along with Mr. Raines' instructions. The location, however, was much farther than he expected.

"Did your friend tell you exactly where he wants us to go?" He asked Carter, rustling the map. "It looks pretty far away, don't you think?"

Carter kissed his teeth. "Why you all suspicious all of a sudden? It's only like an hour away from Oakland, it's fine."

"I don't know," his partner lowered the map, "it just seems like way more trouble than just going back to where I'm staying."

"You heard Carl, he got a whole secured place! We don't know who could be listening in at your motel. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the damn triads showed up there. This is the perfect option we have."

"I know what I'm doing, Carter. Why trust him more than me?"

"Woah, woah, woah! Who said anything about me choosing Carl over you? Don't you just see that he's got everything prepared for us already? He's helping us out, man!"

While the two kept discussing over what would surely become an argument by the end of the trip, Trish had zoned out, watching the road go by as Sammy still stared at her intensely. She could still feel his gaze on her, but she was too tired to do anything about it at this point.

But Sammy's eyes suddenly grew bigger, almost bulging out of their sockets. His breathing turned raggedy as he brought his hand up to Trish's face, his fingertips brushing her cheek.

"You're the one that did it!" He said in an accusatory tone, recoiling away from her. "Watch out, y'all! She's more dangerous than you think."

Carter turned back at them, ignoring Lee's concerns. "Nah, she's just feisty. Like a sexy blaxploitation movie star. Bet you like being tied up, don't ya, miss thang?"

Lee heavily sighed, shaking his head. "You, just concentrate on the road, and you, stop bothering the driver. This is major, we have our first real lead on this case."

"I'd stop pestering y'all if someone just told me what this is all about!" Sammy gestured the whole car they were in. "I'm starting to think that you're not really Ch'u..."

"Took you long enough, dumbass," Carter muttered.

"Hey! Respect your elders, boy!"

Lee suddenly punched the dashboard with all his strength, getting everyone's attention and helping him take out his growing frustration.

"We're cops," he told Sammy, lowering his voice, "and you're helping us, so if you snitch, your friends will want to kill you for cooperating with us and the police will come after you for being affiliated with gang members."

"Dammit, son!" The elderly man loudly cursed, turning towards Carter. "I thought you said you were retired! I'm too old for this sh-"

"I was forced into early retirement after an- ah, an incident," his sensei clarified. "But this ain't about me! We have some triads to catch and this girl is gonna lead us straight to 'em."

"I don't think you wanna mess with Isaak's girl, trust me," he met Trish's eyes, peering into them with a serious expression etched on his face.

I know what you did, he seemed to tell her.

Trish hoped she didn't gulp too loudly.

There was no way he could be talking about that... It was over, gone forever... Why couldn't it go away already?

"Well, poppa bear's got some crimes to answer for," Carter said. "Plus, she had a gun! Probably doing some crook activities herself for all we know..."

Sammy side-eyed their suspect. "You can say that again."

Their conversation eventually died down once they finally arrived at what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse close to a deserted pier. Lee had to triple-check the map just to make sure it was the right place, but Carter was the first to get out of the car and take in a long breath of fresh air.

In the back, Sammy cautiously took Trish's gag out of her mouth, quickly untying it from the back and letting it drop on her lap. She immediately stretched her jaw in pain, Lee briefly looked back at her to see if she wasn't trying to escape.

"Sorry about that," he glanced at the gag. "It was for safety reasons, you know?"

Trish only glared at him in silence. He probably enjoyed taking hostages like that, the glint in his eyes betrayed his stoic expression.

While Sammy got out of the car to go around it and open the door for Trish, Lee went to join Carter inside their strange designated location. The rust from the door handles stained his hands when he turned them, the washed-out red paint on the walls were peeling outside and the few rooms inside were barely furnished and poorly lit.

In the room Carter was in, there was an area that seemed specifically installed for an interrogation; a stool behind a table with two chairs and a big lamp.

Lee frowned quizzically at how odd the place felt to him, how it was almost like someone had prepared this in advance for them, waiting for them.

Carter had already pulled one of the chair behind, settling comfortably and relaxing his legs up on the table. He placed his hands behind his head, grinning as his partner-in-crime walked in.

"Oh yeah, this'll do nicely," he said, bopping his feet to an imaginary tune. "Finally back to doing what I do best."

"I wouldn't celebrate too soon," his friend distractedly looked around. "I'm not liking this."

"Ay, man! I'm done having this conversation with you! We're already here, let's just just squeeze the juice outta this chick and bounce."

"All I'm saying is that-"

A loud bang was heard from outside the warehouse. The duo turned their attention towards their room's entrance, where Sammy was dragging Trish inside. Lee swiftly pulled them inside and semi-closed the door, leaving it open just enough to see what was happening on the other side.

From one of the broken windows in the main room, he saw a couple of distorted figures getting out of what looked like a van. The figures were each carrying something with them, holding it with both of their hands. As they entered the warehouse, Lee saw that they were a group of men and women dressed all in black, holding large rifles. They spoke to each other quickly in Spanish.

"Lee?" Carter whispered to him. "What's going on?"

His friend leaned in closer to hear the content of their conversation. He'd picked up on a little bit of Spanish from the days he was dating his ex Isabella, the woman he thought he'd end up with... before Carter had accidentally shot her, rendering her severally mentally disabled.

The armed group were talking very fast, but Lee was still able to discern a couple of key words. Police... assigned mission... ruin everything... boss... get rid... rats.

Lee slowly turned towards his partner. "Carter, I think this is a trap."

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