Plausible Deniability **EDITED**

Part Six

"Garcia, where was the drug house located before?"

"The original 'business' if you will, was in the backwoods of McClure but after the arrests, it was condemned and it's just been sitting there."

"Let's start there. How far is it?" I looked to Reid, who had been studying the map taped to the wall.

"Approximately seventeen miles."

"Let's take two vehicles. Morgan and Reid, you take the first car. Evan, come with me, we'll follow behind. JJ, you and Rossi go to the McClure station and get every officer ready in case we get him. Have a squad car meet us there as soon as they can."

"Sir," Garcia's voice came back through my phone, "I did more digging on the other guys involved, like you asked me to...two of the other guys arrested were just released last week and one other got out on bail this morning."

"What do you wanna bet that Layton bailed out his buddy?"

"You think they're gonna cause a scene again?"

"I hope not."

She was bouncing to the beat over the speakers, shaking her head and her shoulders like we were back on a dancefloor. She was biting another grape in half as she mouthed the words to the next song. All I could do was smile and try to keep my eyes on the road.

    "Sing, Aaron!" she danced and turned up the volume.

"No, I don't sing."

"You said that about dancing, too," she grinned and handed me a grape. She turned the volume up again and started to sing, "...the one that makes me laugh, she said, she threw her arms around my neck..."

"Would you stop?" I laughed and watched her dance with another mouthful of food. "Please don't make me pull over to perform the Heimlich maneuver because you choked on a grape." She immediately spat it out in my direction and it went flying across the car.

    "Are you kidding, me? How old are you?" I flicked the grape out of my lap.

"Are we there yet?" she groaned and kicked her feet up onto the dashboard.

"I should have made you ride with Reid."

"I wouldn't have kissed you for a week."

"I find that hard to believe," I smiled in her direction and watched her watch the trees blur past the window. She took a deep breath and fogged up a corner, her finger tracing the shape of a heart.

"It should be coming up soon," I turned the volume down on the radio, "the GPS says it should be on the left. Keep an eye out for the sign." I played around with the screen on the dash to make the map bigger and double-check my surroundings. "When we get there, remember, they're going in around us first. We have to keep the driveway clear."

"So, you can't make it up to me while we wait?" she grinned and reached across the middle console to pinch at my thigh.

"Evan, please," I rolled my eyes with a smile and suddenly saw the sign for the street. "There, up on the left."

She reached the walkie from the dash but I beat her to it, giving her a look, "Morgan, it's right up here on the left."

"I see it," he replied and was saw him take the turn. We slowed down and pulled over a good distance from the entrance and watched them disappear into the tree line. "Can you see us?" he called back.

"Not from this side, at least. Pull up a little further and that should be fine," I watched, "we'll keep an eye on the road from out here in case they decide to run for it or anyone should come this way."

"Gotcha. Keep your eyes peeled."

    "Copy."

"You're so serious." She poked at my arm as I put the walkie back on the dash. She turned to the window and breathed another heart onto the glass.

"You should be more serious. This isn't a time to play games." I gave her a stern look.

"But now the window is cute."

"Evan."

"Aaron."

    "I just wish you would take some things a little more seriously."

"What am I not serious...? My gun is loaded and ready to go," she pulled her gun from her holster and tossed it up onto the dash, "I actually have my vest on this time-"

"I know," I looked down the road, "you just make me nervous. I don't want anything to happen to you because you make a joke at the wrong time."

"You of all people know I take this seriously," she suddenly got quiet and sunk down in her seat.

"Evan, I didn't mean – that's not how I meant it." I reached over and put my hand on her knee. "I think you're probably right, though, I am too serious, sometimes."

"All the time."

"Most of the time," I argued and squeezed her knee, her leg twitching and she laughed,

"Stop it!" she swatted me away, only to practically jump over the middle console and kiss me.

"Evan, not now," I grinned against her cheek, "we have to watch the road."

    "We're in the middle of nowhere!" she kissed me again but we both suddenly jumped at what sounded like gunshots. "That sounded like it came from down the road." We both looked in the direction that Morgan and Reid were parked.

"There's no way they came from this way. They must have been there already," I started the car back up and put it in drive in one quick motion and sped down to the turn. I looked ahead to see Morgan and Reid out of their car and running towards us as Evan got her gun.

"Back! Get back!" Morgan was screaming and signaling for us to stop. I put the car in park and heard more shots coming from our left. I watched Evan hop out of the car and run towards Reid, who was limping and trying to fire over his shoulder.

"Evan!" I called for her and shot behind them for cover. "Reid! What happened?"

    "Ambush!" he opened the back door and hopped inside, "they knew we were coming!"

"You okay?" Evan ducked down to assess Reid's ankle and help him into the back seat.

"I'm fine, just shoot!" he shouted and laid down for a moment to catch his breath, Evan checking over him again.

I quickly glanced over my shoulder to make sure they were both alright as Morgan reached around me for the walkie,

"This is SSA Derek Morgan, requesting backup! Shots fired! I repeat! Requesting backup!" He dropped the walkie to start firing from another direction, "where is that damn squad car?!"

    "God dammit!" I heard Evan scream and curse from the other side of the car and more shots being fired from our right. "Fuck!"

"Everyone in the car!" I shouted and we all jumped into the suburban. "We can't wait for backup!"

"Go! Go! Go!" Morgan yelled, still firing out the passenger window at the oncoming four-wheelers, chasing us down the street. I whipped the car around in a way Morgan would have been proud of, had we not been preoccupied, and sped to the highway.

"Is everyone okay?" I called out as the car bounced from the gravel road to the asphalt, checking my rearview mirror.

    "Not really," Reid whined from the backseat and hissed at the pain in his ankle. "I think it's a sprain."

"I don't wanna fucking hear it!" Evan shouted next to me and pulled a bloody hand off of her shoulder.