"What's going on, sir?" Ana asks, softly, walking up to a man (Lewis) with a dog with Harper by her side.
"I was walking Ozzy past the Millers, and he started freaking out. He's a retired bomb dog from the TSA. He definitely smelled some explosives inside." Lewis explains.
"Thank you, sir, we'll take it from here" Ana says, softly.
"Control, 7-Adam-15 requesting bomb squad at 4312 Moreland Street." Harper says over the radio.
"Ma'am, step back." Harper tells a woman who is recording them.
"You ready, ma'am?" Ana asks as they walk up to the front door of the house.
"Yeah." Harper says.
With Harper's approval, Ana knocks on the door, yelling "Police."
"Yes? Can I help you?" A man asks, answering the door.
"Boy!" A female voice yells from inside the house.
As they enter the house, there is a loud explosion.
"Are you okay?!" A female screams.
"What happened?" A male voice asks.
[Timeskip]
They're now in Grey's office, covered in glitter. Ana is covered in pink glitter with Harper covered in blue glitter.
"Some more gender reveal mayhem." Grey notes, watching a video of the incident.
"They used C-4 to set it off. Seven other guests are in the ER being treated for glitter-related injuries. Most of those occurred when the second device went off, sir" Ana explains, softly.
"They're having twins." Harper says.
"Boy and a girl." Ana nods.
[Timeskip]
"All right. Let's get started. First things first, let's welcome Detective Armstrong back from vacation, huh?" Grey says, starting roll call.
"Ah, yeah, thank you. Okay, look." Armstrong says, clearing his throat.
"Before I get started with the morning's business, I just want to thank everyone again for all their hard work in the Rosalind Dyer case. That was a... difficult time. Now... you all have printouts of the latest developments from the detective tables. But I want to go over one item. A federal operation is launching in Filipino Town, so until further notice, all marked units are to stay clear of Alvarado, between Montrose and the 101." Armstrong explains.
"Anything we should be aware of?" Tim questions as Ana reads the information on the paper in front of her.
"Not according to the FBI, but, you know, they ain't big on sharing, so if you need to contact anybody in that area, run them through LA CLEAR and notify your supervisor immediately." Armstrong replies and Ana nods.
"Officer Nolan. Can you enlighten us on what LA CLEAR is?" Grey asks, turning to Nolan.
"Yes, sir -- " Nolan starts but his watch starts to beat.
"I'm sorry, you need to get that?" Grey asks and the beeping stops.
"Uh, it's not my phone, sir. That's just a fitness tracker. I have it set to alert me when my heart rate increases rapidly. I'm tracking my stress. Just learning how to manage it better." Nolan explains.
"Do I stress you out, Officer Nolan?" Grey asks, raising an eyebrow and making Ana giggle.
"No, sir." Nolan says but his wristband starts to beep again before he turns it off.
"Cabrera, please" Grey sighs, turning to Ana
"LA CLEAR is the largest deconfliction database for law enforcement in the West." Ana explains, softly.
"And what does that mean, Officer West?" Grey asks,
"Every federal, state, and local covert operation is monitored there to prevent duplication of efforts or blue-on-blue situations." Jackson replies.
"And can you access LA CLEAR, Officer Chen?" Grey questions Lucy.
"No, sir. For security reasons, all access is reserved for higher-level officers." Lucy answers.
"Bottom line, this is a very serious tool, and we don't call unless the stakes are high. Anything less, figure it out. Nolan, to help you manage your stress, you'll be riding with me and Harper today, Cabrera, you're back with Bradford and Chen for now. Okay, people, that's it. Oh. And if anyone has advice for Officer Nolan on how to deal with stress... ...I'm sure he'd appreciate suggestions." Grey says, dismissing roll call and making everyone laugh.
Ana smiles, giggling when Lucy drags her to get the gear, obviously very excited about riding with Ana again.
[Timeskip]
"I try and dance at least 20 minutes a day." Jackson suggests as they give suggestions to Nolan.
"Target practice. And the "Great British Baking Show."" Angela adds.
"Hell if I know. I wrecked my family from the stress I was under." Harper shrugs.
"The larger the caliber, the better. Oh, and prioritize the holiday episodes." Angela continues.
"Meditation will change your life." Lucy says.
"Goat yoga." Smitty adds.
"What yoga?" Nolan questions.
"You got to find a way to turn your brain off -- lift weights, play ball, paint a picture. Doesn't matter what it is, just that you focus completely." Tim advises.
"Or you could just stay stressed and drink a lot of coffee, that's what I do" Ana finishes, making everyone give her a look.
[Timeskip]
They get a call to a rich person's house and walk up to the door. Ana knocks on the door.
"You're too late. It's gone." A man (Barry) says, well dressed and sounding rude.
"It's?" Lucy questions.
"We got a call about a Peeping Tom?" Tim continues.
"Wendy loves to tan in the morning. Last few days, this drone has shown up hovering overhead, spying on her." Barry explains.
"Well, we can put out an alert, but drones can be tricky to track down." Ana says, softly.
"It's bad enough guys are constantly hitting on her whenever we go out. Now she's not even safe in her own home? You guys don't believe me? There's like a gravitational pull Wendy has no control over." Barry complains, meanwhile a woman in a very showing swimsuit sashays over behind Barry.
"Honey?" Wendy asks, giving Tim a look over and making Ana a little jealous.
"They say they can't do anything about the drone." Barry sighs.
"I'm sure that's not true. The next time I tan... you can come watch." Wendy winks at Tim.
Ana shifts uncomfortably, reminding herself that she's not dating Tim, Rachel is.
"Ma'am --" Tim starts.
"Are you hitting on my wife?" Barry asks, making Ana mad. His wife is very clearly hitting on Tim, not the other way around.
"What? No!" Tim says, starting to get upset as well.
"Get the hell out of my house!" Barry orders.
"Sir --" Ana starts.
"Now!" Barry yells.
[Timeskip]
Ana is sitting in the back of the car, talking to her abuela who just called her.
"Abuela, Moose no podría haber hecho nada tan malo." Ana sighs over the phone, talking to her Abuela Carmen. (Abuela, Moose couldn't have done anything that bad.)
"Sí, lo hizo. Está mal, ven aquí ahora." Carmen insists. (Yes, he did. It's bad, get here now.)
"Abuela, estoy en el trabajo. Intentaré llegar a casa una vez que termine el turno lo más rápido que pueda, pero-..." Ana starts. (Abuela, I'm at work. I'll try to get home once shift is over as quick as I can but-)
"This better be five minutes or less, boot" Tim sighs, turning the car around to drive to Ana's apartment.
Tim and his girls walk up to Ana's apartment. Ana unlocks the door and comes inside. Ana freezes in the doorway. Her dog, Moose, is currently being whacked with a pillow by her very drunk Abuela Esmerelda.
"Abuela!" Ana exclaims, walking over and moving Esmerelda away from hitting her dog.
"Atacó a mi ... amigo." Esmerelda insists. (He attacked my... friend)
"Ana" Lucy calls, pointing to a man who is laying in her abuela's room, looking bruised.
"Your dog is crazy!" The man yells, trying to stand up but Moose runs over and jumps on top of the man, barking in his face.
"Moose!" Ana exclaims, but her dog doesn't listen.
"Moose!" Tim calls, his tone commanding and dominant.
Moose immediately trods over to Tim and sits down at his feet, staring up at him.
"um..." Ana says, turning to the man, who gets up off of the floor, before noticing that they are cops.
"I didn't do anything!" The man yells.
The three exchange a look, it's obvious the man didn't do anything, but him being so defensive has them thinking that maybe he did.
"Sir, if you could please explain why you're here" Lucy says, but the man draws a gun.
Tim is quick, stepping in front of Ana and Lucy and tasing the man. Ana runs over to the man, cuffing him before searching him with gloves on.
"Tim, what's this?" Ana asks, holding up a small vial full of viscous liquid that she found in the man's pocket.
Tim's eyebrows furrow, walking over and taking a whiff of the liquid. "Date rape" Tim says.
"he knew" Lucy realizes, turning to look at Moose.
Moose attacked the man Esmerelda brought to their house because he knew the man was going to hurt Esmerelda.
[Timeskip]
Tim and his girls arrive at the scene where Nolan is arresting a man (Mitch).
"Suspect in custody. Code 4." Ana says over the radio, getting out to help Nolan.
"Hands behind your back, interlace your fingers." Nolan orders before searching the man.
"Got a knife." Nolan announces, handing it to Lucy.
"Yep." Lucy says.
"Prosthetic leg?" Nolan guesses when he finds the man's prosthetic leg.
"Yes, sir." Mitch replies.
"That's a military knife. You lose your leg in combat?" Ana questions, examining the knife.
"Yes, ma'am. Got in an argument with an I.E.D." Mitch answers.
Nolan pulls Mitch up and turns to put him in the shop. Tim freezes, seeing Mitch's face for the first time.
"Mitch?" Tim asks.
"Sarge?" Mitch questions.
"Sarge?" Both Ana and Lucy say at the same time.
"You know this guy?" Nolan asks.
"I was his squad leader in Afghanistan." Tim reveals.
[Timeskip]
They're processing Mitch, all of them shocked by Mitch's appearance.
"What happened? You had a fiancée in San Diego, a job lined up through Wounded Warriors." Tim asks as they process him.
"What can I say? I... moved on. You tell me what I'm being charged with?" Mitch asks.
"um... at least resisting arrest, the rest is up to the DA" Ana replies, softly.
"Right. And how exactly did the cops end up in my hotel room?" Mitch questions.
"She can't tell you that." Tim says.
"Yeah? But you can." Mitch says, turning to Tim.
"I-I can't. Be in violation of the victim's privacy." Tim shakes his head, looking shaken.
"Victim? What happened to Joe? Is Joe all right?" Mitch questions, getting panicked.
"Look, I've already said too much." Tim sighs.
"Is he dead?" Mitch asks, his voice shaky.
"Detectives will come speak with you shortly. Mitch, inside." Tim says, helping Mitch into a holding cell before walking away with Ana and Lucy.
"He doesn't seem to like you very much." Lucy frowns.
"What happened?" Ana asks, softly.
"I'm the reason he lost his leg." Tim answers, grimly.
[Timeskip]
Harper, Nolan, and Armstrong along with Tim and his rookies are walking towards the abandoned warehouse where Mitch says his friend got the money.
"Looks abandoned." Nolan notes.
"It's probably intentional. If I were printing millions of dollars, I'd want to stay below the radar." Harper replies.
"All right, look sharp, you guys. If these guys are ex-military, they're gonna put up a fight." Armstrong says before they all enter the warehouse, only to find it empty, the entire place cleared out.
"Not exactly the counterfeit money-making operation we were sold on." Nolan frowns.
"Still believe your Army buddy's story?" Nyla asks Tim.
"Yeah. I do. They must've cleared out of here after Joe's murder." Tim responds.
Ana leans down and picks up a scrap of paper.
"You find something?" Harper asks.
"Yeah, the name of some security company" Ana frowns, handing it to Nolan who reaches for it.
"I know this. I've seen it somewhere. This morning when I was canvassing, it was on the side of the van. Um, the worker with the van was fixing the camera across the street from where Joe was killed. Uh, he said the camera had been down for a week." Nolan says, looking at the scrap of paper.
"Did you get a name?" Armstrong asks.
"No. I thought it was a dead end. I have him on body cam." Nolan says.
They grab a computer from the shop and watch Nolan's body cam.
"Okay. That's him." Nolan points out.
"He must've taken down the camera so we couldn't trace it. We should run his face through the database." Lucy says.
"Detective Harper. Go to channel nine." Grey's voice comes over the radio.
"Hey, sir. We are here. Uh, we're in the building. It's empty. We're about to call in T.I.D." Harper says, going to channel nine to talk to Grey.
"Negative. You're to exit the building immediately and come back to the station." Grey says, his voice harsh.
"Sir?" Harper asks, confused.
"Shut it down and get back here -- now." Grey orders.
"What the hell's going on?" Nolan asks, while Lucy and Ana exchange a confused look.
[Timeskip]
"Got a call from the Chief. Your search warrant rang an alarm way up the food chain." Grey explains, all of them gathered in the briefing room.
"So we're just supposed to walk away from a murder investigation?" Nolan asks.
"No, but you can't follow it down this path." Grey answers.
"And what if that path leads us to our killer?" Tim questions, but Grey just shakes his head, not knowing.
"So, what are we into, Sarge?" Harper questions.
"I don't know. And I pushed hard to find out. But this comes from on high, and it's non-negotiable. Let's take the night. We'll regroup in the morning. That's it." Grey says, leaving the room while Tim turns to Armstrong.
"Hey, this isn't right." Tim says.
"No. But it's a direct order." Armstrong replies before leaving the room.
"So, that's it? We walk away?" Nolan asks.
"If we're smart." Harper responds.
"That's not a yes" Ana points out, softly, her eyebrows furrowed.
"What do you think?" Harper asks Tim.
"That this is clearly a federal operation and that we don't have enough information to know how to proceed." Tim answers.
"So we get more." Harper decides.
"How do we get insight on a federal operation, Boot?" Tim questions, turning to Lucy.
"Uh... we call LA CLEAR." Lucy replies.
"Exactly." Tim says.
"You sure?" Harper asks.
"Yeah. I owe Mitch that much." Tim says as he makes a call on his cellphone.
"You remember the personal questions they ask you for clearance, right?" Harper asks.
"They won't make sense if you don't hear the question" Tim answers, stopping Ana from politely leaving the room, gently sitting her back down in a seat.
"Yeah, hi. Hello? Uh, this is Officer Tim Bradford, LAPD, badge 34831. Yeah. Go ahead. Bethesda. Mm. Left clavicle. Uh, "Lady Marmalade." Uh, tarantulas. Uh, yeah, it's, uh, "Xanadu."" Tim says over the phone.
""Xanadu"?" Nolan asks, making Lucy chuckle.
"Yes, uh, ma'am, I'd like to run an address. 214 Mill Street, Los Angeles. Okay, thank you." Tim continues over the phone before hanging up.
Ana looks at Tim with a curious gaze. "what'd she say?"
"They'll get back to us within the hour." Tim answers.
[Timeskip]
"It's a D.I.A. operation." Tim announces, walking over to the group and handing Ana a donut, making her smile
"Defense Intelligence Agency? That's national security." Harper says, confused.
"LA CLEAR tell you anything else?" Nolan asks.
"Just a contact name -- Colonel Norman Jangus." Tim replies.
"What the hell is a national security agency doing counterfeiting money?" Nolan questions.
"This is way bigger than we thought. We should take the night, like Grey said, and see how we are feeling in the morning." Harper decides.
"Harper's right. Conducting an off-the-books operation is high-risk on a good day. And this ain't a good day." Tim agrees.
[Timeskip]
Ana is hiding behind a plant on Nolan's front porch, watching Jangus be allowed into Nolan's home. Ana unzips her backpack and quickly places a few tracking devices on his car before returning to her hiding place.
A few minutes later, Jangus leaves the house and drives away. Ana makes sure he's gone before entering the house where everyone else is talking.
"You get the tracking device on his car?" Nolan asks.
"Yup" Ana says, softly.
"Great. Let's hit the road." Lucy smiles, giving Ana a high five.
"All right." Nolan agrees.
"No. This is a two-person job. Harper and I got it from here." Tim shakes his head.
"Uh, screw that. You go, we go." Lucy replies.
"That's admirable, really, but if this thing goes sideways, we could face demotion, suspension, even jail." Tim explains.
"I've got a golden ticket. Bradford has an unblemished record. Odds are we can weather the storm. Rookies are at-will employees. They don't even need a reason to fire you."
"Then they'll fire me, I'm sure I'll find something else, but I'm not leaving you two" Ana says, softly.
"And, with all due respect, I've been buried alive by a serial killer. This rabbit hole does not scare me." Lucy adds.
"I love this job more than I imagined I could. The day I stop giving it my all is the day I walk away." Nolan finishes.
"All right. Let's roll. And hope he leads us to the money." Tim concedes.
[Timeskip]
Jangus and his crew are using a forklift to put crates into a freight container.
"We're in position." Tim says over the radio. They're all wearing black clothes. Ana has perched herself on the divider between Tim and Lucy's seats, watching Jangus load the crates.
"Copy that." Harper says over the radio.
"Why are you the reason Mitch lost his leg?" Lucy asks.
"'Cause I let him slide on something. It doesn't matter what, just that I cut him a break when I shouldn't have, and because I did, he went back out on patrol, got blown up." Tim explains.
"That's not your fault. You showed humanity. I know you're Tim Bradford, but still, you shouldn't feel guilty" Ana frowns.
"Rules matter, Boot." Tim answers.
"Then what the hell are you doing out here?" Lucy points out.
"Some things matter more." Tim responds.
"Bradford, Chen, Runt, let's go." Harper says over the radio.
"Hang on. First lesson in black ops -- make sure the lights don't come on when you open the door." Tim instructs before they get out of the car.
They move in and out of cover before hiding behind a freight container, watching the crates get loaded.
"That's got to be the pallets of money. Waiting to put it on a ship to who knows where." Nolan says.
"Should we call Long Beach PD?" Ana whispers.
"Not yet." Tim replies.
"Why not?" Lucy asks.
"Well, for one thing, we don't know if that's the counterfeit money. Pallets are covered." Tim explains.
"We've only got one shot at this. We absolutely cannot be wrong." Harper adds.
"So we confirm it's the counterfeit money before we call in the cavalry, use the arrest to figure out who killed Joe." Nolan realizes.
"Exactly." Tim nods.
"So, how do we do that?" Nolan asks.
"No idea." Tim replies.
There's the sound of an engine sputtering and men talking to Jangus.
"Something's up." Harper realizes.
"They're getting a new forklift." Ana realizes, softly.
Two of the men drive away, leaving the forklift mostly unattended.
"Now's our chance. Let's move." Tim says as they approach.
"I'll take it from here. Watch my six." Tim orders.
Tim makes his way behind the men, under a truck, into the container, where he puts his gun away and lift the cover off the pallet. It is loaded with paper money. Before he can take any further action, he hears a sound and turns to see Jangus and his team with their weapons trained on him.
"You'll be dead before you break leather." Jangus says.
All five cops are lined up with guns pointed at them and with their hands up.
"John, what the hell? I warned you." Jangus reprimands.
"You did." Nolan agrees.
"But you didn't listen." Jangus sighs.
"I didn't." Nolan agrees.
"I'm disappointed. Thought you were smart." Jangus says.
"No. The smart one's my T.O. She plans for everything." Ana pipes up, watching Harper extend three fingers and point at Jangus. A red dot appears on his jacket.
"That's a .50 cal. I don't need to tell you what that bullet will do to your body." Harper smirks, Lopez is on a catwalk with a sniper aimed at Jangus.
"Hey, Pettigrew, didn't we face this exact scenario down in Colombia?" Jangus calls to one of his men.
"Yeah. We're all still here." Pettigrew replies.
"'Cause it's a no-win situation. Your shooter turns me into mist, but my guys turn you into organ donors." Jangus threatens, turning back to the five cops.
"So what we need is a negotiated settlement." Tim decides.
"I'm listening." Jangus agrees.
"One of you killed Joe Delacruz. You give him up, we walk away." Tim offers.
"And the money?" Jangus asks.
"Not our problem." Tim answers.
"Tim." Lucy protests.
"Not our problem." Tim repeats.
"Fine. Pettigrew. Surrender yourself." Jangus orders.
"What? After everything we've been through, you're just gonna turn me in like that?" Pettigrew complains.
"Your sloppiness jeopardized our operation, so you are being sacrificed for the greater good. But all they have is circumstantial evidence. So keep your mouth shut, listen to the lawyer, and you'll be out in no time." Jangus orders.
"Yes, sir." Pettigrew concedes, handing Jangus his gun and allowing Ana to handcuff him.
"We good?" Jangus asks.
Harper sends a gesture to Angela who stops pointing the sniper at Jangus.
"All right, let's get this done." Jangus calls.
"What happens with the money?" Nolan asks, curiously.
"It'll fund black ops for the next five years. The U.S. government spends billions in covert operations. I bet Bradford here watched backpacks full of ghost money being handed out in Afghanistan." Jangus explains.
"I did." Tim nods.
"See, that money has to be authorized and tracked." Jangus continues.
"But counterfeit money doesn't." Nolan argues.
"We didn't print money. We printed freedom. All right, let's wrap this up." Jangus says, ending the conversation.
[Timeskip]
"Let me get this straight. You all just happened to be taking a stroll on the docks, and Joe Delacruz's killer appears and turns himself in?" Grey questions, it's late at night and he's in plain clothes. They're in his office.
"Yes, sir." Ana says with the others.
"And when the Chief calls me tomorrow screaming --" Grey starts.
"He won't." Tim promises. There's a long pause.
"I'm going back to bed. The paperwork on this better be spotless." Grey says, moving to leave.
"Yes, sir." Harper promises.
[Timeskip]
"¿Dónde está ese estúpido perro?" Esmerelda asks when Ana gets home around 1 am. (Where is that stupid dog?)
"Ese estúpido perro te salvó la vida." Ana replies, shucking off her shoes, too tired for this discussion. (That stupid dog saved your life).
"Él lastimó a mi ... amigo." Esmerelda protests. (He hurt my... friend).
"Escuchar. Eres mi abuela y te amo. Pero todo esto de beber y tener sexo a mitad del día me está matando. Haces más desorden en la casa que Moose. Moose vive con Tim ahora, no porque no lo quieras aquí, sino porque sé que tendrá un hogar mejor que aquí, donde su intento de ayudar termina siendo golpeado." Ana sighs, done with the conversation and entering her room before Esmerelda can stop her. (Listen. You're my grandmother and I love you. But this whole drinking and having sex thing in the middle of the day is killing me. You make more mess around the house than Moose ever did. Moose is living with Tim now, not because you don't want him here, but because I know he'll have a better home than here, where him trying to help ends with him being hit.)