That motherfucker. I couldn’t believe he slapped my ass like that. Adding to my growing frustration was the fact that I kind of liked it, and that was a total no-fly zone. There was something both annoying and endearing about him. I played along because I knew it was the right thing to do for his investigation, and I was supposed to stay out of the way. There was nothing good about being seen with him. But then he kissed me with no warning, his warm lips touching mine, and I forgot what was happening for a brief moment. He definitely didn’t have to kiss me like that.

I could hear every word they said; the walls in that apartment were paper thin. I paced in the tiny bathroom with my gun in my hand. There was no reason that guy should have broken into Davidson’s apartment; that was suspicious out of the gate. He’d blocked me from being able to get a really good look at Robbie, but from what I did see, he was a filthy, typical low-level criminal. I recalled his name from the reports I’d read, while studying up on Davidson’s case.

What I heard was that there was some kind of a social get together that night, and the next night, the ring leader was supposed to fill everyone in on the new plan. Guess the case wasn’t so stale after all. Sometimes if you wait it out, things do tend to move along. Leaning up against the sink, I listened to Robbie ask about me. Davidson seemed defensive when he responded. Frustrated that I was spotted with him,I’m sure. When I finally heard Robbie leave, I had my hand waiting on the doorknob to come out.

“You can come out now,” he called out.

I swung the door open dramatically and raced out the door, scanning the room. “He’s gone, right?”

“Yeah, settle down, Serpico, you can put the gun away. He’s gone. And he’s harmless.” Davidson went over to the sink in the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. Leaning up against the counter, he ran a hand through his dark hair.

“Well, it sounds like your case is picking back up.” I broke the silence that had fallen. He seemed troubled, which confused me. He knew I was sent in to see if his case should be shut down, and obviously things had taken a turn in his favor.

“Yes, yes it is. But now I’ve got to deal with you.” He set the glass down and crossed his arms over his chest, accentuating his well-defined biceps. “This is a problem.”

“Why is it a problem?” I felt like my work was done, for the most part. He could go back to doing what he was doing, and it sounded like he’d be able to arrange a takedown of the drug smugglers sooner rather than later. I’d be on to the next case.

“Because now, they know I have a woman,” he said matter-of-factly, as if I were missing the point. Which, apparently, I was.

“So what?” I put my gun back in its holster and leaned against the counter across from him.

“Well, you’re gonna need to come with me tonight, to this get together at the bar,” he replied.

“Why would I do that? I heard you say ‘we’ll see.’ I don’t need to be there. Go hang out with your little posse of drug smugglers and call it a day.” There was no way I was going with him.

“You don’t get it. I pulled a gun on that guy, and now he’s seen you. He may be a low-level piece of shit, but he’s going to tell everyone in that little gang exactly what happened today. If you don’t come, it looks suspicious. Like I’m hiding something. Please tell me that you have something else to wear.” He pointed at me like this was going to happen.

I looked down at what I was wearing, seeing nothing wrong with it, which distracted me from the obvious. “I’m not going undercover with you. That’s not my job.”

“Oh, is your job getting caught with me while you’re supposed to be surveilling and just checking in? Because that’s what happened today. This wasn’t me being careless. This was an unfortunate circumstance, but you’re in the mix now. If I don’t bring you, someone is going to look for you, because up until now, I’ve been the guy that doesn’t talk to the ladies. I’ve been the strong silent one that doesn’t have any connections of any kind. Now I do. And that’s because of you.”

As I mulled over what he said, it pained me to recognize he was probably right. Not only did I not want anyone from a drug gang coming for me; when they found me, they’d learn I was FBI and the case would be blown completely to hell. I wasn’t undercover; I was just plain clothed. I started to rub my neck as the stress of the situation set in.

“Ah, I can tell that you see my point,” he grinned.

“I do, but that isn’t what I do. I’m gonna need to call in. This isn’t what my assignment was.” I took my cellphone out of my back pocket and pulled up my boss’s number. “I’ll be back in a minute.” I left the apartment and went out to the street to call. Mostly, I didn’t want him to hear me explain to my boss that I fucked up and got caught; not only by him while I was tailing him, but also one of the guys he was working with. What a mess.

After I got chewed out, and agreed that it was my responsibility to help keep Davidson’s cover, even though it wasn’t an FBI case, I made my way back to the apartment. My boss reminded me that if this went to shit, it would cause a rift between the departments, and I needed to make sure the bad guys went down. That would be the only way to make this go away.

I knocked quietly on the door when I came back, and Davidson greeted me with his huge smile. “Hi baby, all taken care of?”

“Oh God, don’t call me that,” I muttered.

“I’m just getting into character. You are my woman, after all,” he chuckled. He was enjoying this way too much.

“Listen, I’m going to help you, but only because I have orders to do so. Orders I don’t especially agree with. However, the FBI isn’t looking for a pissing match with the DEA. We’d actually like to see these guys go down, and have the case closed as much as you would. So, I am now officially on your case. That doesn’t mean you get to call me baby or slap my ass whenever you want.” He wasn’t sexually harassing me or anything; the truth was, I was being kind of a bitch. I was pissed at myself for getting into the situation, but there was also a little part of me that was excited to participate in the sting. It had been a long time since I worked an active investigation, and I’d never gone undercover before. It was exciting, and if we played it all the way we were supposed to, it would be over in a few days, and I’d come out looking like I did the department a favor. Not like I was fixing a fuck up.

“Whatever you say,” he replied with a grin. “Now seriously, you need to wear something else tonight. You look like a store clerk at the mall or something. Way too clean-cut to be hanging out with a badass criminal like myself. Have you ever been undercover?” he asked me, raising an eyebrow.

“No. I’ve worked intel, and for the last two years, I’ve been a liaison for this sort of job. Checking in on undercover agents, from whatever DOJ department needs me to, and discerning if the case was going somewhere or not, after talking to the agent and checking things out. I’ve been with the FBI for ten years. I’m not a rookie, if that’s what you’re implying.” I could hear myself getting defensive.

“Relax. It was just a question. You’re really high strung over there at the FBI, aren’t you?” he teased.

Maybe he was right. If I was going to pull off being his girlfriend, I was going to need to check my ego. If he didn’t want me to come along, or didn’t trust me to some degree, he would have come up with a plan to get me out of it. “Sorry. This just isn’t how I planned to spend my time. What exactly would you like me to be wearing so that I fit in, Davidson?”

“First of all, call me Dave when we’re around them. Davidson is my full name, and it’s not for them. We didn’t give you a name. Do you want a new one, or do you want to be Portia?”

“I’d rather just be Portia, so I don’t forget to respond to a new name today.”

“Ok, Portia it is. You can be Portia Kelso. That’s easy to remember.”

“That is your real last name, though,” I said.

“They don’t know that. Now it’s yours. You can borrow it.” He gave me a soft smile, which eased my nerves.

“Ok, Portia Kelso. Easy. What else?”

He checked his watch and looked back at me. “We need to take you shopping real quick. Then we’ll just hang out, and I can fill you in on everything before we go. Sound good?”

“I don’t know about good, but it sounds like a plan.” I let out a small chuckle, still hardly believing what I’d gotten myself into.

“Good enough. Let’s go,” he said, and grabbed his keys.