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Mirana picks at her fries as she listens to Jackson's story on an arrest Stanton had made earlier in the day.
"I'm telling you, it was awful,"
"That poor woman," Mirana sighs.
"By the way, her story completely checked out," Jackson says. "She has a restraining order, called 911 a bunch of times. She needed protection from her ex. But instead of helping... turns out that she needed protection from the cops, too"
"Tim and I were stuck on a call. If we'd been free, maybe we could've --"
"No, no," Jackson shakes his head. "This is my fault. Grey wanted to bench Doug. I...I pushed him to do more, and now that woman is in jail for no reason"
"J," Mirana places her hand on top of his. "You cannot blame yourself for this. The D.A. may throw this out based on all the facts checking out. This plan is going to take time to execute because if we make one mistake, he's the martyr and we're the ones getting handed our asses"
"But how many more people are gonna get hurt in the meantime?"
"I wish I could say none," Mirana sighs. "But he's dangerous which may work in our favour"
"What do you mean?" Jackson asks.
"Men like Stanton, their egos are delicado," Mirana says. "He has a superiority complex but those are easy to shatter, like being put in his place by someone he views as lesser. When they get pushed too far they lash out or make a mistake"
"So, what does that mean?" Jackson asks.
"I get to do what I do best," Mirana says. "Nitpick everything he does and call him out on every mistake he makes"
"I can't believe that's your role in this op," Jackson says and Mirana shrugs.
"Hey, play to your strengths,"
"So you're strength is pissing people off?" Jackson asks.
"No, pissing racistas off," Mirana corrects him and Jackson chuckles before they bump fists.
"Everything alright here?" Tim asks, taking a seat.
"Just strategizing," Mirana replies. "You know, playing mind games with Stanton."
Tim smirks. "That's my kind of strategy."
"The vibe just got all weird," Jackson says. "You two need to stop looking at each other. It's too sexual"
Tim and Mirana exchange amused glances, causing Jackson to raise an eyebrow.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Jackson asks.
Mirana laughs. "It's just that we're engaged, J. Looking at each other is kind of part of the deal."
Tim grins. "Yeah, we're allowed to give each other looks."
Jackson rolls his eyes playfully. "You guys are too much sometimes."
"Hey, you encouraged me after that night in the bar," Mirana points at him.
"Yeah because you finally picked up a guy that didn't end up in a holding cell,"
"Okay, one time-"
"Four," Jackson corrects her and Tim's eyebrows rise as he laughs.
"J!" Mirana huffs.
"Oh please go on," Tim says.
Mirana glares playfully at Jackson. "You're enjoying this a bit too much."
"Just stating the facts," Jackson says, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Mirana here was quite the heartbreaker in her single days."
Tim raises an eyebrow. "Heartbreaker, huh? I thought I was the only one."
"Yeah, right," Jackson snorts. "Mirana has so many notches on her bedpost-"
Mirana throws a fry at Jackson's face and the man stares at her, his mouth open in faux shock.
"Are you done?" Mirana asks. "Because I still have half of my fries left"
Jackson wipes the sauce off his face, a playful grin on his lips. "I plead the fifth."
︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵
Mirana sighs as she sits at a desk with Tim watching the man work through the stack of files in front of them. She takes a large gulp from her coffee and Tim raises an eyebrow.
"You alright?"
"Why should Jackson have to go through this with Stanton? The things Stanton has done, if I did one of them I'd be out of a job quicker than I can blink," Mirana says.
"As a rookie, sure, but not once you're off probation," Tim says. "There are layers of safeguards that protect cops from getting fired, and some of those safeguards are important, considering the risks we take,"
"It doesn't explain why he gets a pass on being a narcisista, racista, egotista pendejo," Mirana says.
"He doesn't get a pass. He gets POBOR. Peace Officer Bill Of Rights," Tim says. "And he gets a union and a legal defence team. If he gets fired, he gets to appeal. If he gets convicted, he gets to appeal. And those lawyers, which our union dues pay for, will tear apart every detail surrounding his termination. If they find one thing out of order or it just seems excessive, he gets his job back, including back pay"
"And then?" Mirana asks.
"He gets emboldened, with a huge chip on his shoulder, and that negative attitude is contagious," Tim says, pushing back in his chair before getting to his feet.
"The weight of this shouldn't all fall on Jackson," Mirana glances at Jackson as she and Tim walk out of the bullpen. "There's got to be more we can do than just bide our time, hoping that we get to Jackson in time if something goes wrong. Esto es una mierda"
"Look," Tim says. "I have a plan but today we just continue patrolling and if Jackson needs us, we'll be there"
