Detective Wolfe nods. "and what did your family do for money in Havana?"
"that goes a little more specific than preliminary doesn't it?" Ana asks.
"just answer the questions Ms. Cabrera." Talia urges.
"Fine. My mama and abuelas would make homemade tortillas and we would sell them at the market every day" Ana replies.
"tortillas?" Detective Wolfe asks, raising an eyebrow.
"tortillas" Ana affirms.
"is that code for something?" Detective Vestri asks.
"what? drugs?" Ana guesses. "no, I'm talking about the tortillas that gringos buy in the grocery store every day."
"you know the ones in that clear plastic? the bland tortillas that are just a rip off of the actual thing?" Ana continues.
"Ms. Cabrera, please, let's not get hostile" Talia says.
"Then stop accusing me of being connected to drugs because I'm Cuban" Ana exclaims.
"what about your grandparents?" Detective Wolfe asks. "why did they leave with you? was it also because of the police or because they got mixed up in dangerous things?"
"no. no. you don't get to insult my grandparents" Ana says, standing up.
"Ms. Cabrera" Detective Wolfe reasons, standing up as well.
"Dios, ustedes los blancos son todos iguales. ¡Usted colonizó las Américas! Matasteis a millones de indígenas y esclavizasteis a los demás. Eres asqueroso y horrible y, sin embargo, no aprendiste de tus antepasados. En cambio, acusas a alguien de ser un criminal por el color de su piel. ¡Ni siquiera importa si llevo el mismo uniforme que tú! Cuando Isabel hacía algo, todos se apresuraban a defenderla. Pero cuando simplemente existo con mi tono de piel, ¡de repente soy un criminal!" Ana rants, grabbing her jacket. (God, you white people are all the same. You colonized the Americas! You killed millions of indigenous people and enslaved the others. You are gross and horrific and yet you didn't learn from your ancestors. Instead, you accuse someone of being a criminal because of their skin color. It doesn't even matter if I'm wearing the same uniform as you! When Isabel did something, everyone rushed to defend her. But when I merely exist with my skin tone, suddenly I'm a criminal!)
"Ana, don't" Talia says.
"you know, I now know why it took two years for you to arrest Isabel. Because a white woman being involved with drugs? it's unimaginable. But a Cuban woman? suddenly it's guilty until proven innocent." Ana scoffs.
"I became a cop to prove that not all police are corrupt, turns out I was wrong" Ana says, storming out of the interrogation room.
"Officer Cabrera, could I borrow you-" Grey asks, coming over to her. Grey is unaware of the conversation they just had.
"No, you can't, I'm leaving, I'm done, sir" Ana responds, softly.
"with being a cop?" Grey raises an eyebrow.
"yes" Ana answers, softly, moving to walk away.
"why?" Grey asks.
"because it turns out the same policemen who killed my dad when I was 11 are the ones who live here" Ana scoffs.
Ana walks away, changing into her civvies and driving home around 3 pm. She's pissed and she hates being angry around her grandparents but she has nowhere else to go and she definitely can't keep driving.
"Mija, llegas temprano a casa." Carmen says, looking a little suspicious. (Darling, you're home early)
"Lo siento abuela, me equivoqué. Resulta que todos los policías son iguales." Ana apologizes, fuming. (I'm sorry, grandma, I was wrong. Turns out, that all cops are the same.)
"Cariño, ¿qué pasó?" Carmen asks.
"Una mujer blanca está involucrada con las drogas. Dicha mujer está casada con mi oficial de entrenamiento. Me llamaron para interrogarme a pesar de que sólo había visto a la mujer una vez. Luego me preguntaron por qué salimos de Cuba, infiriendo que no era por la policía, sino que estábamos involucrados en las drogas." Ana explains. (A white woman is involved with drugs. Said woman is married to my training officer. They called me in for questioning even though I've only met the woman once. They then asked me why we left Cuba, inferring that it wasn't because of the police, but that we were involved in drugs.)
"Miel" Carmen sighs. (honey.)
"Soy tan estúpido. Aquí estaba yo pensando que tener esperanza era bueno, era ser optimista. No, tener esperanzas es delirar." Ana sighs. (I'm so stupid. Here I was thinking that being hopeful was good, it was being optimistic. No, being hopeful is being delusional.)
Carmen opens her mouth to speak but there is a knock at the door.
Ana sighs, going over to the door and opening it. Standing there are the three detectives, Talia, Wolfe and Vestri.
"can we borrow you?" Talia asks.
"Volveré pronto abuela" Ana tells Carmen, softly, before grabbing her jacket and stepping into the apartment hallway. (I'll be back soon, grandmother)
Ana closes the door before turning back to the three detectives.
"We looked over the footage of the interview" Wolfe starts. "We can see how it appeared to be assuming you know about drug traffickers in the city because of your race."
"But that was never the goal" Vestri says. "I'm hispanic too, trust me, I've been discriminated against a million times before, the Academy was twice as hard because of my race."
"The point is, that you're preaching to the choir" Talia says. "we've all experienced racism"
"but... you... you stood up for yourself, you made it clear from the beginning that it wasn't okay" Wolfe continues.
"because it's not" Ana says, softly.
"not every American of color can do that, Ana" Vestri says.
"and you're not wrong, the LAPD can be racist, there are corrupt people in the LAPD, but the reason we stick around is because if we don't, what happened to your father will happen to other men and women." Talia adds.
"we need people like you, people who will stand up for what's right no matter what the cost is" Wolfe says.
"so, we're asking you to take the badge back" Vestri says, holding out a badge.
"we can't promise that you won't experience racism, but we can promise that we're actively working to bring it down from the inside out" Wolfe promises.
Ana takes the badge, staring at it.
"okay" Ana murmurs.
"we have to get back to the Isabel thing, but we'll see you tomorrow?" Talia asks.
"you will" Ana agrees, softly.
They walk away and Ana enters her apartment again, holding the badge.
"Confías demasiado fácil, mi amor." Carmen says, when she sees Ana holding the badge. (You trust too easy, my love)
"Todas merecen el beneficio de la duda." Ana responds, softly, not looking up and staring at the badge. (Everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt.)
"Te dolerá algún día." Carmen advises. (It will hurt you one day.)
Ana looks up at Carmen. "Sé" (I know that).
YOU ARE READING
Altruism | Part One : Trust
Action"Let me be your light at the end of the tunnel" - Ana Cabrera Ana Cabrera is a Cuban immigrant. She lives in a three bedroom apartment with her grandparents and is a rookie starting in the LAPD. (Season One) Part Two is now up, to find it follow thi...
Episode Eight
Start from the beginning
