A/N: I made some minor adjustments to the last sections of the previous chapter to line up with a character change. ALso bish... blackbears everything means nothing is my life
----
Lauren was relaxing in her cell with her bunkmate, an energetic, mildly manic girl who went by Halsey, when everything suddenly went to shit.
They could hear a commotion coming from the halls, shouting and screaming bouncing off the walls. Lauren pushed herself up onto her elbows and raised an eyebrow as she saw a group of guards jogging past the door.
Halsey went up to the bars and clutched at them, trying to peer down the hall.
"Oi Eilish." She hissed. A hand appeared through the cell door next to them and flipped a middle finger at her. "Come on, what's going on?"
"Riot in the yard apparently." Eilish reluctantly replied.
"Really? Ya hear that Laur? A riot." Halsey said and Lauren just sighed, letting herself back onto her pillow.
"What for?" Lauren drawled. Halsey relayed it through the door and Lauren heard a muffled reply.
"Protesting. Against police brutality, remember that news story from the other week?" Halsey said, her eyes lighting up.
"Good for them. If I wasn't in here I'd be doing something." Lauren muttered, closing her eyes and tucking her hands under her head. "No wonder my lawyer's busy at the moment."
Halsey stumbled back from the door with a yelp that made Lauren look up again.
"Oh hey Beckett, whatcha need?" Lauren said with a grin at the guard standing at the door.
"Got word from Hansen, apparently the protests are keeping you in business for now." Beckett said, brushing a loose hair out of her face, glancing down towards the yelling every few seconds. "They're after orders on what to do next."
"They need to keep an eye on Healy for me. I wanna know what he's up to during these protests. Oh and tell 'em to visit me soon." Lauren said quietly. Beckett nodded and stepped away from the bars when there was a loud yell from the end of the hallway.
"I've gotta go. But keep safe yeah? This might get rough." Beckett said before jogging towards the yard.
"Can't believe you've already got a guard on your payroll. Took Eilish months."
"Yeah well she's barely legal and doesn't have the mind for business." Lauren waved Halsey off with a scoff.
"You're like five years older than her." Halsey laughed.
"And at least I didn't get busted before I'd hit puberty."
"I can hear you, ya know!" Lauren winced and mumbled an apology that earned another middle finger that had Halsey snickering.
"You really think you can keep your business alive from in here?" Halsey asked, lying down on the bunk below Lauren.
"I built up quite a following before I got busted. And a reputation for being firm but fair." Lauren mused. "My people can handle themselves."
"Against Matt Healy? Really? He's ruthless." Halsey muttered, concern coming off her in waves as Lauren leaned over the edge to look at her.
"No. His father was ruthless. Matt is just a wannabe mafia boy with daddy issues and anger issues." Lauren said with a grin.
"Careful, he might hear you."
"Like he can hold a conversation with a girl long enough to get any informants in here." Lauren snorted. Halsey didn't seem to find it as funny.
"I'm serious Laur. Be careful."
Lauren scoffed and lied back on her bed, staring up at the blank ceiling, wondering how long these 18 months were going to drag.
----
Camila had shown Ally the business card which she had immediately written off.
"Come on Mila, a PI service finds you the day of your resignation, I find that hard to believe. It's probably Jauregui's people trying to turn you or kill you." Ally said, folding her arms with a raised eyebrow.
"I think you're being paranoid." Camila replied, pacing in front of the TV, flipping the card between her fingers.
"And if I'm not?"
"Then I'll be found floating down the East River with teeth missing and a bullet wound in my forehead." Camila muttered with a dark grin.
"Not funny Mila." Ally sighed, leaning back on the sofa and settling her hands on the cushions beneath her.
"I'm kidding. They'd have to be suicidal to approach me in a cop bar of all places. If anything went wrong they'd be able to locate them so fast." Camila pointed out. "No, I think it's legit."
"Mila..."
"This is perfect, we can still do what we love; hunting down bad guys!" Camila pleaded, kneeling in front of the coffee table.
"And when those bad guys are just people cheating on each other and false suspicions? PI's don't hunt down serial killers or gang leaders. They help expose cheating spouses and other stupid liars." Ally sighed. "It's not the same as being a detective."
"So? At least we'd be helping someone." Camila snapped. Ally raised her hands and tilted her head.
"Alright. That I understand. But really Mila? PI?"
"I don't want to do anything else but being a cop wasn't what I thought it was." Camila rested her head on the table and took a deep breath. "I just want to help people. And this is all I know how to do Als."
"Firefighters help people."
"True... but I'd rather not be stuck in another academy so soon." Camila mumbled.
"I'll come with you." Ally finally said, making Camila look up quickly. "Only to make sure you don't get your ass murdered."
"Yes!"
----
Camila was definitely about to get them both murdered.
They stood in front of a shady looking building, windows surprisingly clean with the words BB Investigations printed on them. There were people watching them, curiously looking at the two newcomers.
"Sure about this?" Ally asked shakily. Camila gulped before setting her shoulders back and striding up to the door, pushing it open and trying to ignore the groan it emitted.
She walked up to a small reception area and waited for the woman at the desk to look up. Camila paused as she recognised the woman from the bar.
"Oh hey there, can I help you?" She asked.
"You slipped this into my pocket last night at Shaw's bar." Camila said, sliding the business card across the desk.
"Ah right.. I'll get the boss." The woman muttered before knocking on the door behind her. "Yo, Bear, visitors."
The door swung open a tall, slightly scrawny guy absolutely covered in tattoos leaned against the doorframe and rubbed his eyes.
"Oh, you. Right. Camila Cabello, the woman who brought down Lauren Jauregui." He said before yawning. "Sorry, it's just really early."
"It's ten am." Ally piped up.
"And I was out until six am following some creep." He replied with a scowl.
"Who are you? And why give me that?" Camila asked, pointing at the card still sat on the desk.
"My name's Matt Musto but everyone calls me blackbear. And I heard through the grapevine that you'd resigned. I'm always looking for new partners." Blackbear shrugged.
"New partners, funny. Like they've ever said yes." The woman at the desk said under her breath.
"Becky, shut up." Blackbear replied easily. "We can discuss the details in my office if you're interested in the job?"
"Only condition I have is that Ally works with me. We've had each other's backs since the start." Camila said with a grin at Ally. Blackbear nodded once before stepping into his office and gesturing them in.
The door closed behind them and they sat across from Blackbear, who collapsed in a creaky old chair on the other side of the desk.
"You two are the ones who brought down Jauregui, anyone worth their money knows how impressive that is." Blackbear started.
"Mila was the one who did that. I just tagged along." Ally waved him off easily.
"Support in your ventures is always needed, no matter what you're aiming for. Having someone in your corner really keeps it all together." Blackbear pointed out. "Having someone who keeps you on track and helping you out is just as important."
"I couldn't have done it without Als, a couple of times I would've probably given up, or gone way off base and done something highly illegal." Camila snorted as Ally rolled her eyes.
"How's this work then?" Ally asked, looking back at Blackbear in curiosity.
"Usually a lot of sitting on your ass."
The three of them stared at the closed door and Blackbear sighed.
"Becky! Eavesdropping, what have I told you?" He said loudly. Becky pressed her hand up to the frosted window and flipped her off. "She's not wrong though."
"But we get to help people right? Like this isn't some cop out that revolves around keeping you drunk like those fuckin' TV shows?" Camila said, leaning forward in her chair.
"I mean I do like drinking but never on the job. Unless of course it's needed to keep a cover." Blackbear mused. "But yes, I help people. Even if it's mostly cheating a-holes."
"Opinion on the BLM movement?" Camila said cautiously.
"Oh me and Becky were out in the middle of it, believe we spent a night down in the 66th precinct."
"96th!" Becky's muffled correction made him smile.
"Yeah, we're not like cop- um... we're not discriminatory here." Blackbear coughed and shot them an awkward smile.
"I'm down for it. Ally?" Camila turned to her partner with a grin. Ally sighed and rubbed her forehead.
"Well I need to pay rent and this kinda fell in my lap... so sure. Sounds good." Ally agreed with a crooked smile.
"Awesome. Becks! Pull up the paperwork!"
----
Lauren knew that ringing her dad was risky, more so for him since he was the one using a mobile.
It also rung for a lot longer than usual.
"Lauren." She took a steadying breath at her father's gruff voice.
"Hey dad. How've you been?" She asked, trying to keep her voice even.
"I was doing well up until my youngest tells me my successor is currently sitting in prison." He said bluntly. Lauren winced and leant against the wall next to the phone.
"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but-"
"Laur, how the hell did this happen?"
"It was that cop, Cabello. She's had it out for me for months. She found some stupid loophole." Lauren grumbled. "But it's okay, I've got everything under control."
"Don't tell me you left your brother in charge." Mike groaned.
"Do you think I'm stupid? No. I'm running shit from the inside." Lauren scoffed.
"Was that a smart move?"
"It's the only one I had. It was try this or let it blow up and let Healy poach all my connections." Lauren sighed. "There was no warning; I didn't have time. D and Mani are keeping it running until things become more streamlined."
"Trust them?"
"With my life." Lauren replied instantly. "Look, I built my own reputation these last few months. No one messes with me. And I'm sure there's muttering of me running things from inside, which just reinforces that rep dad. You left me in charge for a reason dad."
"That I did." He murmured. "Try to lay low and just make it through your sentence. Don't give them any ammo to add more time."
"I will dad."
"I'm proud of you Laur."
"Thanks dad." Lauren whispered, smiling gratefully when he started rambling about his own troubles.
----
One Week Later
Camila had officially seen more paperwork in the past seven days than her entire six months as an officer. Which in itself was impressive.
Impressively boring.
Ally had taken to saying "I told you so" everytime Camila so much as sighed.
They were the newbies to the world of Private Investigating; Blackbear had made it clear that they'd be known as Junior PI's until their licenses came through and for now would be working on an unofficial status until then.
Which was code for being glorified interns for the foreseeable future.
Honestly Camila was low-key thankful for the change in pace. After three weeks on the front lines against the protests, she was happy to be sat behind a desk, watching the protests march past the window every few days.
Her relative calmness changed one morning.
Her and Ally had stopped to get coffee for the four of them before coming into work, meaning they weren't around for Blackbear's 9am meeting. They'd only been PI's for a week and already their curiosity was getting the better of them.
"What they look like?" Ally asked Becky quietly as they dropped off the coffee.
"Young. I'd say a minor." Becky whispered.
"So not your average client?" Camila mused as she kicked her feet up on her desk. They'd moved in two small desks near Becky's once the contracts had been worked out.
"Minor's tend to come in to find their estranged parents. Usually orphans." Becky shrugged.
"They fit the bill?"
"With a Gucci belt and jacket so expensive it costs more than our rent? Fuck no." Becky snorted and sipped on her coffee. "That girl screamed money."
"Rich foster parents?" Camila suggested.
"Rich something that's for sure. She looked pretty damn worried though. Probably just wants us to tail a boyfriend or girlfriend for her." Becky tapped away at her computer with an uninterested smile.
Half an hour later and the office door creaked open. Blackbear waved over to Camila and motioned for her to come into the office. Camila frowned but followed him into the office anyway.
"I think you know our newest client." Blackbear muttered.
Camila's eyes widened at the young teenager sitting in front of the desk, a wary smile on her face.
"Uh yeah." Camila swallowed. She reached out her hand with a small smile. "Don't think we've formally met Taylor."
Taylor stared at the outstretched hand and shook it cautiously.
"Well you are the reason my dad and sister are in prison." She said bluntly and Camila winced.
"Yeah..."
Blackbear cleared his throat and nodded towards the chair next to Taylor vaguely aggressively. Camila sat down quickly and tried not to stare at Taylor.
"Ms. Jauregui wants our help."
----
Camila traipsed after Taylor as she left the office. As Taylor spoke to Becky about payment details, Camila glanced over at Ally who was watching her with wide eyes and her jaw dropped.
It wasn't until Taylor left that Ally broke and all but jumped over her desk to grab Camila by the shoulders.
"Was that Taylor Jauregui?!" Camila nodded and let out a deep groan.
"And I've just been hired to bring down the Jauregui business."