Scott stands behind the two-way glass, arms crossed as he watches Vine and his lawyer talk–with the intercom off, of course. There was no way Scott was risking any tricks with this case. One slip up and Holomen would have a mistrial so fast it would leave Scott's head spinning.

This one had to be done by the books; no throwing punches, no hot-headed remarks. Just pure, clean police work at its best.

"You ready for this?" Avi approaches Scott from behind and settles next to him, both men staring into the small interrogation room.

"I've been waiting for this since the day he killed my mom, Avi." Scott's eyes don't leave Vine, watching every single move, memorizing every twitch and tick as he prepared to go in with everything's he got.

Avi lays a hand on Scott's shoulder, getting his attention.

"I know, son." Avi smiles sadly at Scott. "But if you're going to go in there, you can't let your emotions get the best of you." Avi's fingers give a squeeze and Scott takes a deep breath. "That's exactly what he and Holomen are hoping for. And you can't give it to them."

"Every sensible part of me is telling me not to let you in there and send in someone else." Scott's head snaps to Avi, his blue eyes finding his mentor's. Hell, Avi was practically a second father at this point. He was there for Scott a hell of a lot more than Rick was or ever would be, and not just because he was dead.

"But I would never take this away from you." The uncertainty fades away from Avi's smile. "You go in there, and you nail him."

"Thanks, Avi." Scott swallows hard, his breath catching in his throat, a tight-lipped smile all he can manage.

"Hey, Scott!" A voice calls from behind and Avi's hand falls away from Scott as both men turn to face their visitor.

The bright-eyed Candice Lambert hurries into the room with a file waving in her hand.

"Fast-tracked this one for you." Candice hands the file over to Scott who begins flipping through the pages, this time, taking a moment to absorb the information. Candice smiles up at Avi who just responds with a twitch at the corner of his lip, causing Candice's grin to falter.

"The gun matches the bullet from Sam Hein?" Scott's head shoots up, staring down at Candice.

"Yep!" Candice perks back up. Scott closes the file and slaps it against his hand, biting down on his lip as he's unable to contain his smile.

They now had the murder weapon and Mitch's positive witness ID. They had him. Even if they get no other information, this was more than enough to convict Vine for Hein's murder.

"I seriously owe you, Candice."

"No problem," Candice waves him off. "And we're working through the rest of the weapons we found to see if they match any cold cases we have, so we should have that information within the next few days or so." Scott nods, looking back into the room where Vine sits, having no idea that Scott is about to steal his entire world away.

"Anything else you can give me before I head in there?" Scott looks over his shoulder back to Candice.

She lolls her head back and forth.

"Not yet." Candice squints. "We're working through some files he has, but we're still trying to figure out what they're all connected to."

Scott looks over to Avi.

"He won't know that." Avi shrugs and Scott nods.

He makes his way for the door, but before Scott can even turn the nob, Avi calls out to him.

Scott looks over, brows furrowed, unsure what else needs to be said.

Avi opens his mouth to say something, but pauses.

"Good luck." Avi nods to him. Scott frowns, clearly not Avi's first choice of words, but Scott just shakes his head and steps into the interrogation room.

Scott steadies his breathing as he quietly shuts the door behind him, two pairs of eyes watching him as he walks into the room and quietly takes a seat across from Vine and his attorney.

"About time." Holomen huffs. "We've been waiting here for hours."

Scott doesn't respond as he keeps his eyes down and opens the file in front of him. He shuffles some papers around, seemingly paying no attention to the two men across from him.

Scott begins reading one of the sheets in front of him, his eyes scanning the words he's already read, a silence filling the room.

From his peripherals, Scott can see Vine's jaw clench as he shoots a look to Holomen. Scott wants to smile, his tactic already working, but he keeps a straight face as he flips to a new page and continues reading.

"Last time I checked, this wasn't a library, Hoying." Holomen blusters. Scott ignores him and just holds up a finger, his eyes scanning the rest of the page before looking up at the two men waiting on him.

Scott shifts in his seat, getting his back comfortable against the chair and folding his hands on top of the file before looking between Vine and Holomen, both men clearly annoyed.

"I'm sorry, you were saying?" Scott smiles smugly at them and Holomen rolls his eyes while Vine's narrow in just the slightest.

"Are you done playing games, Hoying?" Holomen sighs, his thumb and forefinger rubbing up and down the bridge of his nose as his eyes close.

"What's the rush, Holomen?" Scott smiles. "You get paid by the hour. You should be thanking me." Scott whips his head to Vine, locking his gaze onto the amber eyes across from him. "Is your client ready to talk?

"And why would he do that?" Holomen asks from the side, trying to regain Scott's attention to no avail as the two men continue to stare one another down.

"Well, seeing as we found the gun he used to murder Sam Hein, not to mention a positive ID from the witness he tried to kill. Twice. I would say your client is royally screwed."

Scott can see from his line of sight as Holomen exhales deeply.

"What are you offering?" Holomen leans on the table, hands folded. He's not even trying to dispute the charges, knowing there's no choice.

Scott's lips turn in for a moment; as much as he would love nothing more than put Vine away for the rest of his pathetic life, he knew that Esther and the DA's office would never throw away a potential rat like Vine. They had Shelton's best man sitting in the palm of their hand, and Holomen and Vine both knew it. Vine would be offered a deal: spill everything he knew about Shelton and his organization, and in return, he'd receive a suspended sentence and be placed in protective custody while serving his time in jail. And once he was out, he'd reap the benefits of WITSEC and start all over with a new name and new life with a nice stipend to start him off.

Was it unfair? Absolutely. Vine had been murdering people for over twenty years. The FBI believed him to be responsible for 56 murders since he started under Shelton–and those were just the ones they knew about. They figured the real number was much greater.

If they were about to prove all of those murders, or if he confesses, Vine would probably be looking at 10-15 years in a protective sentence, which was a gift in itself as he should be facing the death penalty. But they only had enough evidence for one murder at the moment, which meant there was a chance he may not even see the inside of a jail cell.

Either way, the situation sucked. The only satisfaction was that Scott had actually caught him, which for a man as meticulous as Vine, was its own punch in the ballsack.

"Depends what your client has to say." Scott squares out his shoulders.

"We know you work for Blake Shelton." Scott turns to Vine, addressing him for the first time since he's walked in. "Give him up, in addition to the crimes you have committed for him over the past two decades, and the DA is willing to help you out."

Vine looks over to Holomen and they seem to have a silent conversation before Holomen leans over Vine's shoulder and whispers something in his ear.

Vine's lips tighten together in a smile.
"The crime boss?" Vine purses his lips and shakes his head. "Never had the misfortune of meeting the bastard." Vine leans back in his chair and crosses his arms, staring Scott down.

"Adam," Holomen grates, leaning forward on the table and staring at his client with disbelief.

"Is that so?" Scott asks tightly, unsure what game Vine was playing. Holomen clearly wanted him to give up his boss, but it seems Vine wasn't playing along.

"Because the files we found in your secret office says otherwise." Scott bluffs, his face blank and giving nothing away as Vine narrows his eyes at Scott.

"Is that so?" Vine chuckles. "As I see it," Vine leans forward, his eyes never leaving Scott's. "All you think you have on me is a murder of some," Vine leans his head over towards Holomen, though he keeps his focus on Scott.
"What was he?" Vine asks with a smirk. He was smart, Scott had to give him that. Even facing an obvious murder charge, Vine still wasn't going to slip.

The only mistake he made was somehow letting some man out of his grasp.

Connie always use to say, "angels are watching over," and Mitch clearly had an angel on his shoulder. He should have been dead, twice now, and still managed to escape.

Maybe I should take him a casino and see how he does at craps.

"An accountant." Holoman responds exasperated, bringing Scott back to the room.

"A murder of some accountant." Vine finishes, straightening his back out.

"Wow," Scott chuckles. "You're some kind of stupid, aren't you?" Scott shakes his head, breaking eye contact but not missing Vine's glare.

"We have the gun you killed Sam Hein with and the man who watched you do it." Scott jabs a finger at the file under him.

"Have you been slacking or is your client just dumb?" Scott turns to Holomen and asks. Holomen just holds out his hands with no answer.

Vine shrugs.

"Well, we'll just have to see what holds up in court."

Scott's eyes narrow at the man across from him. He had no idea what game he was playing at. Did he really think he could get off? They had a solid case against him, even if it was just for Sam Hein's murder. And yet he was still willing to bring his case to court.

A loyal, dumb son of a bitch.

"Well, I guess that answers that question." Holomen sighs, his jaw set as he shoots a look at his client. "Any other questions?"

The question instantly bubbles in the back of Scott's throat, the one question he's wondered every single day since the night his mother was murdered.

Why Connie Hoying?

But one glance at Vine, and Scott could see him waiting for those words to leave Scott's mouth.

Scott wasn't going to get his answer. Not today.

Scott closes the file in front of him and stares down the murderer across from him. Without a word, Scott pushes out from the chair, picks up the file and heads for the door.

Vine clearly wasn't going to talk, so now it was up to Esther and the forensic team to string together a bulletproof case.

"You know," Vine's chilled voice calls out. Scott turns around and looks at him from across the room.

"If your witness really is mixed up with Blake Shelton, he may want to make sure he watches his back." Vine relaxes in his chair and crosses his arms.

Scott's blood goes cold and his grip crumples the folder in his hand.

"Excuse me?" Scott hisses, his jaw tightening as his head cocks slowly to the side, as if he wasn't sure he had heard correctly.

"Adam," Holomen's voice offers warning.

"What?" Vine shrugs innocently. "I'm just saying–from what I've heard–there's never been anyone who's actually lived to testify against Shelton's organization."

Dean takes calculated steps closer to the table.

"Is that a threat?" Scott seethes, his cheek twitching from the force of pressure his teeth are pushing against his jaw.

Vine smiles, his eyes crinkling. He got the reaction he had been waiting for since the moment Special Agent Scott Hoying stepped into his house and slapped a warrant in his face.

"Think of it as some friendly advice, Hoying." Vine leans on the table. "It'd be a damn shame if something were to happen to such a pretty little thing." Vine's voice is calm. "I've heard Shelton can get pretty creative." Vine leans back into his chair.

"Listen to me, you son of a bitch," Scott's fists find the cool metal tabletop and he leans down. "I'm going to send your ass to jail for the rest of your pathetic life." Scott stares Vine down, his voice thick and rough. "Come after him again, and I'll be sure to end it for you." Scott seethes.

"Are you threatening my client, Hoying?" Holomen jumps from his seat, matching Scott's height.

Barely.

"Think of it as some friendly advice." Scott spits.

"Hoying!" Avi appears in the doorway, one hand on the knob, one of the frame as he leans into the room.

Scott straightens up at his boss chastising voice, but his eyes never leave Vine.

Scott gives him one last look before turning and storming out of the room.

Holomen shoots Avi a look before Avi closes the door on them and tries to catch up with his agent.

"My office, now!" Avi shouts, not even caring that they're in the middle of their squad room. Scott crossed a line, did the one thing he wasn't suppose to do, and it wasn't going to fly with Avi, mentor or not.

Scott stands at his desk, his fist tapping against the plastic finish, all eyes in the room shooting between Avi and Scott.

"That's not a request, Hoying." All friendliness in his voice is gone, and Scott pushes away from his desk, his jaw still clenched as he stomps into Avi's office, ignoring the looks from all his coworkers. Avi follows Scott as he walks into his office and shuts the door with force, not hard to enough to slam it, but with enough force to make an example.

"What the hell was that?" Avi yells as Scott paces back and forth. Scott doesn't answer, just shakes his head.

"I asked you a question, Hoying. And you better have a good, god damn answer before I throw your ass off his case." Avi warns.

This gets Scott's attention enough for him to stop walking and rest his hands on the red, pleather-backed chair, his knuckles white under his grasp.

"He's playing with us." Scott answers through clenched teeth.

Avi shakes his head, disappointed with the boy in front of him.

"Of course he is!" Avi bellows, finally capturing Scott's attention. "He's been playing us since the day he started." Avi steps in front of Scott. "What the hell happened in there?" Avi points out of his office.

Scott takes a deep breath and shakes his head.

"He's already tried to kill Mitch twice." Scott tries to control his breathing. "There's no way in hell we can't take that threat seriously." Scott looks into Avi's steel gaze.

Avi rolls his eyes and huffs.

"Of course we're going to take that seriously." Avi walks away from Scott and plops himself down in his chair. "That's the whole reason we have him in protective custody."

Scott runs a hand down his face and huffs.

"I know." Scott throws his body into the chair he had been strangling with his grip just moments before. "I know," Scott sighs.

"I just don't know what he's playing at. He wants to go to court. He has to know any sensible jury will find him guilty." Scott shakes his hand, his teeth pulling in his bottom lip. "And there's no way he would threaten Mitch just to threaten him, right?" Scott asks his mentor. "I mean, this has to be some sort of trap?" Scott queries unsure, hoping Avi's thirty-odd years on the force could give him some insight.

"I can't tell you what he's up to, kid." Avi leans forward on his desk. "But I'm gonna tell you this." Scott looks up through his lashes at Avi. "Lose control like that again, and you're off the case."

"Avi–" Scott objects, pushing out of the chair to the edge.

"No, Scott." Avi holds up a hand, stopping his hot-headed agent. "We can't have you threatening suspects, no matter who they are." Avi lowers his voice as if someone outside could hear. "Esther would ring you a new one if she had seen the shit you pulled back there." Scott takes a deep breath, knowing he's right. "Hell, I'm sure she'll kick your ass once Holomen complains that the lead agent threatened the life of his client."

Avi takes a deep breath and looks to his left, shaking his head.

"This is your official warning, Scott." Scott's eyes fall to his shoes, not wanting to look the man who's given him so many chances, the one who gave him the case when he had no right to be on it, and the one who stood by his side every step of the way to where he was today. He didn't want to see the disappointment in those brown eyes.

"One more issue, and you're off the case. Is that understood?" Scott doesn't want to look at Avi, but he would never disrespect him like that. Not as a boss. Not as a mentor. Not as a friend.

"Understood."

Avi just nods, his body swaying as his chair rocks with his movements.

"Good. Glad we got that out of the way." A silence falls between the two men as Avi looks Scott over.

"Get your report written up, and you can head home for the day. Ya did good, kid."

Scott looks up at Avi and frowns.

"What about Mitch?" Scott asks as Avi opens his desk drawer and pulls out some paperwork. Probably disciplinary papers for Scott.

"What about him?" Avi grabs a pen and starts writing. "Alex will be there again tonight, and I'll send either Travis or Todrick to sit with him."

"Why not me?" Scott leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

"Cause I figured you'd want some sleep. You've got enough to do with this case as is without adding in babysitting duty." Avi continues writing, not bothering to look up at Scott.

"Well if works for you, I'd rather stay on his night shift."

This gets Avi's attention. He looks straight at Scott before putting his pen down and taking a deep breath.

"What's going on Scott?" Avi stares directly at him.

Scott leans back in his chair and crosses his arms.

"What are you talking about?"

Avi bites the inside of his cheek, finding the right words.

"Is something going on between the two of you? Avi folds his hands together.

Scott scoffs and rolls his eyes.

"I'm serious, Scott." Avi's forehead wrinkles as he stares intently at his agent. "If there's something going on between the two of you, you sure as hell know that I can't keep you on this case. There's enough conflict of interest as is that Esther and I are both overlooking as a personal courtesy."

"Nothing's going on, Avi." Scott's eyes fleet across his boss. Avi raises his eyes, clearly not believing him. "I'm serious. There's nothing going on between us." Scott reiterates, this time, looking Avi in the eye and leaving all emotion out of his voice.

"He's the only key we have to this whole case. We need him. And that means his safety is my biggest priority." Scott explains rationally.

Avi leans back in his chair again and takes in a big breath, looking away as he thinks. Scott sits patiently, making sure to keep himself in check as he waits for Avi to think through whatever's going on in his head.

"Fine." Avi finally breaks the silence. "You can stay on night duty with Alex."

Scott smirks, having gotten his way, as usual. Scott's hands grasp the arms of the chair and he goes to push himself up before Avi's voice stops him.

"I'm giving you an inch, Scott. Don't you dare take a mile. Do you understand me?" Avi warns, staring Scott down.

"Understood." Scott smirks.

Avi just sighs and closes his eyes as he shakes his head.

"Just go write up your report." Avi waves him off, regret already in his voice.

"Thanks, Avi." Scott smiles at him before heading for the door.

"Yeah, yeah." Avi brushes him off and picks up his pen again, continuing his report. "Don't let me down, rookie." Avi sighs to himself as he finishes writing up his official warning, hoping it will be enough to keep Esther from a complete meltdown once she hears what happened.

Avi shakes his head as he signs his name at the bottom.

They were in deep shit.

Did any one see the TAATO reference in there????