To You, Graceless (CAMREN)

8 - Code Name: Renegade

***Dude!! When 4 of your 6 stories gets ranked at the same time, you gotta thank people. So, thank youuuuuu!!!! Sorry this took ages and sorry this might be inadequate. I've been trying to adjust to this medicine thingy for so long. Blahhh. Oh and to the person who recommended 5 of 6 of my stories on Tumblr (at)damngreenbrowneyes, thank you soooooo much!!!!!
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"Come on. Come on. Come on."

Camila frantically hit the button to the subsequent floor, tapping her foot as she waited for the elevator doors to part. She was aware that abusing said button would not make the elevator go any faster; she just needed to do something.

Her entire existence was shaken by the drumming of her frightened heart as her skin crawled with dread. Camila was restless and her legs fidgeted as if she was holding urine in with a bladder filled to the brim. She was close to yelling at the damn machine, asking if it knew how critical the situation was - maybe add in some choice Spanish words coupled by her leering eyes and flaring nose.

It would have scared any human being; even those who don't understand Spanish.

All she could think about was how her back-up needed back-up.

In simpler words, Dinah needed her and her job had never been more perilous.

It was her who requested for Dinah's involvement in the case and if Dinah were to meet any sort of difficulty, Camila believed the blame would be on her. It was admittedly crass seeing as Camila spent months in training in preparation for her mission while Dinah was merely thrown into the knotted chaos without a choice albeit willingly and eagerly.

The thought of finding another lifeless body she was supposed to keep alive dipped Camila's heart in freezing water. And when dealing with drug cartels, discovering corpses was all in a day's work. But the mere image of it being Dinah's body only weakened the detective's tenacity and somehow wiped out whatever confidence she had in herself but ignited that little brave heart of hers.

Because Camila would move heaven and earth for the people she loved even if she was at a disadvantage.

Ortega's power was vast, and it meant an intimidating number of loyal soldiers who have been fed lies that were conveyed as truths; veracities that had been etched in their pride, veracities that they fight for. If not for honor, they do it for the staggering sum of money previously unattainable to them.

Nobody knew how many affiliates the man had scattered all across Nevada apart from those he'd hauled from his home.

Camila tried to be optimistic. She was the best there is, she'd been told often. Whatever kind of situation she was in, whatever complicated labyrinth, she'd always found a way out alive - scathed but breathing.

She also needed to remember that her partner was competent, trained. Dinah could have lurked where she wouldn't be found, disguised as a fly on the wall - undetected, insignificant.

But whenever there was light, clouds would drift above her, casting an unrelenting shadow to the heart and mind of the pessimist molded by the worst circumstances. And in Camila's exhausted mind, danger would be magnified to daunting heights; worsening the situation from her perspective.

Persistent memories and history attached to her present and future contested her faith in herself but nobody should ever undermine a determined heart, especially when they're fighting for someone they care deeply about.

Camila had mapped it out - her route to the nearest exit point. She had to take the stairs with her agonizingly long heels and it had to be through the main entrance, where Natalia's entourage most likely lingered. She had to be meticulous, timing herself just right so as everyone else perceived her haste as anything but a cop after a comrade and the criminals they were pursuing.