FINE LINE - T. BRADFORD

16

"I want to give you this," Mirana says, handing him the ring. "So you can keep it safe until the op is over"

"Be careful," Tim murmurs and Mirana nods.

"For the record," Mirana's voice is cool. "No one uses me. I know better than that"

"For the record, you look extremely hot right now," Tim mutters.

Mirana rolls her eyes at Tim's attempt to lighten the mood, but a small smile tugs at the corners of her lips. "Lo se"

"You better come back in one piece, Mira," Tim says, his tone softening. "I'll be waiting for you."

Mirana nods. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Maybe I can be the one to arrest you,"

"You'd love that wouldn't you?"

"You know I would,"

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Mirana drums her fingers against her leg as Nyla and June brief her on the op.

"All right, uh, let's go over this one more time," Nyla says. "Salonga's crew arrives, you test the Fentanyl, give them a show, we get the money, they get this van, and then, boom, strike team takes them down"

"Walk in the park," June says.

"And if not," Nyla says, cocking the shotgun. "We make some noise until the cavalry arrives. You want to go over the signals again?"

"Workhorse means we're in some mierda," Mirana says. "And Beautiful day, we're all buenos"

"Are you all good?" Nyla asks, Mirana who nods.

"I've spent my life pretending to be someone else," Mirana says. "Esto nos es nada"

"You know, if you're not nervous, you're not human. Okay? So, use this and your general hotness to your advantage. Be scared. Be wild. Be unpredictable. Be a cobra," Nyla says before hissing, making Mirana laugh.

"They're here," June says and the three women climb out of the van to be greeted by Sato.

"Let's do this!" The man says.

"Where's the money?" Nyla asks.

"First things first. I wanna test the shipment," Sato replies.

Mirana nods and begins doing the chemistry she had brushed up on last night. She watches as the vials all turn the correct colours before stepping back to show Sato.

"Your lack of trust is irritante," Mirana says. "I only make the purest product. I produce hard positives on every scale"

"Now let's see the cash," June says.

"We're in business," Sato says into his radio and a car drives into the area.

"If this is a set-up, you're the first to go," Nyla says as Mirana points her gun at the man.

"Relax sweetheart," Sato says to Mirana who keeps the gun trained on his head. "It's just my boss. And he wants to talk to you"

"Me?" Mirana asks pointing to herself.

"Good morning," Salonga greets the women. "My apologies for last night. Sato overstepped. It won't happen again. Come in and talk to me"

"What do you want from me?" Mirana asks. "My mamá always taught me that getting in cars with strangers is estupido"

"A monkey can be taught to test for drugs or a cop," Salonga says and Mirana's face doesn't change. "I need to see that you really know the science. You can stop pointing your gun at Sato now"