"You're late," Nacho observed as Ramos approached him outside the police station.

"Yeah, long day. Didn't sleep well," Ramos muttered as he accepted the breakfast Henrietta had made for him. The ritual exchange sent a pang of guilt through his chest. Leaving Logan with a couple packages of instant noodles felt even worse now that he had Henrietta's homemade breakfast in his hand.

"You look like hell. Did you find him?" Nacho shoved his hands in his pockets as they moved towards the entrance.

Ramos didn't like lying to his partner. After everything Nacho had done for him it felt wrong. But he couldn't be entirely certain that it was safe to give away Logan's location right now. It was impossible to know who was listening.

"He's safe for now," said Ramos. He could tell that Nacho wanted to know more, but his partner kept his mouth shut. That explanation would be enough for the time being. He would have to level with Nacho later on.

As long as the evidence of last night's activities was cleaned up, it would be okay if Nacho knew where Logan was staying. Again, Ramos felt a small pang of guilt as those thoughts ran through his head. Logan was no longer an informant. Would it really be so bad if Nacho knew his secret?

Ramos clenched his fist at that internal question. There was no way to foresee what kind of impact such a revelation would have on his life. Right now he needed the stability and connections his job afforded him in order to keep Logan safe. He nodded to himself as he followed Nacho into the bullpen. In the end, he was doing this for Logan.

The arrests that Aguado had told him about were already starting. Several raids had been conducted in the early hours of the morning. The station was in chaos once more. The holding cells were at capacity and dozens of criminals lined the benches along the walls. Between the thugs they'd picked up the other day and the new arrests, Ramos wasn't sure how many more they'd be able to house in the prison.

Catalejo island's prison was on the small side. There were very few long term prisoners within its walls. Before the first wave of arrests, there were less than fifty total inmates. Unless they were able to start deporting some of the extra baggage, they would be forced to erect temporary facilities to maintain them all.

"Who would've thought there was this much scum on our little island?" scoffed Aguado as she met them on the way to their desks. Her expression was bright and she looked a bit more cheery than she had during their conversation yesterday. Ramos caught himself wondering if she was serious about desire to return to her old life after this was all over.

"Most of them aren't even locals," Ramos said as he swept his eyes across the crowd.

"No," Aguado nodded. "We hit the import/export business that Julio was operating near the port. We recovered over five-hundred thousand dollars worth of illegal goods. Looks like he was using it as a layover location the same way he was moving the drugs. Catalejo seems to have become a hub for anyone wanting to move anything illegal into, or out of, the US."

Aguado folded her arms. "This is a huge get for us. We're single-handedly shutting down one of the largest gateways into the United States. That's bound to earn us some brownie points with them. Rumor has it that our president is in talks with their president to further solidify our relationship in a formal alliance because of this. Do you realize what a big deal that is?"

Ramos nodded. He understood the implications. Catalejo had always existed somewhat precariously. Their island had few resources and a lack of arable land. Those two factors together had made it unappealing to most of the world's superpowers. They had skated through the last hundred years of independence by flying under the radar, so-to-speak.

Now, however, with the island's economic boom, the growth of their tourist economy, and their proximity to the United States, the island had found itself the topic of conversation among the larger nations more and more recently. The fear-mongers and conspiracy theorists worried that the social and economic wealth of Catalejo island would lead to them being invaded by a force many times stronger than themselves.

A formal alliance with a super power would grant them a level of security they hadn't previously enjoyed.

"Does this mean the anti-drug task force is here to stay?" asked Ramos. If the alliance hinged on Catalejo's ability to patrol and stop incoming drugs and other illegal goods from the Caribbean, then it stood to reason that they would need a dedicated force to facilitate that.

"It's all a bit fuzzy at the moment," admitted Aguado. "All I know is that they're in talks to figure things out. I can't even begin to speculate on how this is all going to shake out." She sighed. Underneath her excited exterior, it was clear that she was tired. All of her work for the task force was beginning to wear on her.

"Anyway," she said, once again assuming a cheery smile. "I was told to keep an eye out for you two when you arrived. You'll be taking over the interviews while our guys cycle off and get some rest. They've been at it since we started hauling this group in. Interview room one is ready and I think one scum bag is already in the chute."

"Fine," Ramos grudgingly agreed. It's not like he had much of a choice and it beat filling out reports.

"Aguado!" one of the other task force members called to her from across the room.

Aguado waved to them to signal she was on her way. "Looks like another meeting," she said with a sigh. "Force B is out raiding a series of safe houses where some of the thugs are supposed to be staying. Force A, that's my team, is supposed to be heading back out to hit a few more places." She exhaled forcefully. "It's going to be a long day."

* * *

The interviews were taking longer than Ramos had anticipated. Maybe it was the nature of the business these thugs were in, but they were being incredibly tight lipped. His usual tactics weren't working very well and he got the impression that most of them were content to be deported or imprisoned. Nothing he could threaten them with was going to shake their resolve.

That didn't change the fact that the task force wanted every single thug interviewed. They wanted notes, video and audio recordings, and completed reports on each criminal they brought in. Tight lipped or not, it didn't matter to them. Ramos longed for the days when he could do his actual job instead of filing paperwork and interviewing people the task force was too busy to deal with.

To make matters worse, he couldn't stop thinking about Logan. More than once he caught himself trying to fabricate excuses to run back home and be with him. It was like every molecule in his body needed to be near the little omega. It was more than just infatuation. This was a physical need that was beginning to make him feel queasy.

He knew he would be able to slip away for a few hours around lunch time. His plan was to pick up some groceries for Logan, and call the clinic to arrange a doctor's visit while he walked back home. Focusing on that plan gave him a small sense of relief. He would be able to see Logan again soon.

Still, this need and the physical symptoms accompanying it had him concerned. Being distracted and unable to focus was a detriment for a detective. He needed to be alert and ready for anything. Just because he was interviewing thugs that would rather go to jail than speak up didn't mean that things couldn't get ugly fast.

"What's wrong?" Nacho asked, frowning at Ramos as they stood in the viewing room prepping for the next interview.

It was only a matter of time before his partner picked up on Ramos' strange mood. That didn't mean that Ramos was ready to give him a straight answer about it though.

"Nothing really," said Ramos evasively. "I think I'm coming down with something." It wasn't exactly a lie. There was some sort of illness affecting him. Was love sickness a real thing? He wasn't certain he was in love with Logan, but the unending yearning to be near him certainly sounded like it.

"You never take time off." Nacho clicked his tongue against his teeth like a disapproving mother.

"Like I can afford to take time off right now. Have you seen the state of the bullpen lately? And they just brought in another load." Ramos threw up his hands in exasperation and leaned against the wall. It wasn't like him to get overwhelmed by work. He blamed it on whatever was going on between him and Logan. He glanced at Nacho and could tell that his partner was a bit surprised by his outburst. He didn't really blame him. In a decade of working together, he couldn't remember the last time he'd verbally vented his frustration.

"Ramos, I say this because you're my friend. You look awful. Something is very wrong with you right now." Nacho laid a hand on his shoulder. "You can tell me anything. You know that."

Ramos shook his head slowly. "You've got to believe me when I say I'm fine. I've just got some kind of stomach bug I think." He did feel like he was about to throw up for some reason. It was unsettling, he couldn't even remember the last time he'd been physically ill.

"Then go home," said Nacho, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging. "You're no good to anyone if you're sick."

Ramos was about to protest when his phone chimed with an incoming message. He glanced at the screen. It was from Logan. Normally, he would've put his phone away an answered the message later. Right now, however, the thought of reading something written by Logan made his heart jump up into his throat.

He swiped the screen and looked over the message.

"I just got a text from Julio..." wrote Logan.

Alarm bells went off in Ramos' head. The foggy haze that had settled over him lifted almost instantly. "What did he want? Where are you? Are you safe?" he typed back.

"Ramos..." Nacho tilted his head to the side in response to the angry face his partner was making.

"I..." Ramos' voice trailed off as he looked up at Nacho. He needed his partner's help right now. To hell with everything else. "Logan just got a message from Julio. He's somehow communicating with the outside world. Probably coordinating his crumbling empire from his cell. I need you to go to the prison and figure out what's going on."

"What are you going to do?" asked Nacho as he rolled up his sleeves.

The cell phone chimed again. "Just threats. I'm still at home. The doors are locked."

"I'm going to go make sure Logan is safe," said Ramos as he looked up from the screen. The queasiness in his stomach had died away as soon as he had settled on a course of action. "He...I stashed him at my place. It was the only thing I could think of last night. I'm fairly certain Julio doesn't know about it.

"Text me after you've dealt with him. Will you?"

Nacho nodded. "Just...be careful." His expression was grave. It was clear that he was thinking it might all just be a trap.

"Believe me, I'm aware of the situation," said Ramos as he typed in a message to Logan. "Be there soon," it read.

"I don't have any other options though," said Ramos as he looked back up at Nacho.

"There is one."

Ramos frowned. He thought he understood what Nacho was implying, but that didn't mean he liked it. If Julio had gotten wind of his tie to Logan though, it was possible they might use that against him. He growled and rubbed the back of his head in frustration.

"Fine, we'll do it that way. I'll go to the prison and deal with Julio. You make sure Logan is safe. I'll text to let him know you're coming." Ramos pulled his phone back out.

Nacho's expression was still serious, but he seemed in agreement with this new plan of action.

"Worried I might be followed. Sending Pescado instead. You can trust him." Ramos sent the message and took a deep breath. He didn't like the thought of leaving Logan's protection to anyone else, even if it was Nacho. The idea of confronting Julio directly, however, was more satisfying than he had expected it to be. The deeply possessive alpha inside of him wasn't going to stand idly by while someone threatened his omega.

"Okay, let's get going," Ramos declared as he exited the interview room in one swift motion. He knew that if Julio had people following him, they'd be waiting for him to leave in a hurry. The more frustrated he looked, the better. It was unfortunate that Aguado decided to intercept him on his way to his desk.

"Fuentes, I just wanted to th--"

"Not right now, Aguado," Ramos snapped. He hated being so abrupt with her, especially after the warning she'd given him yesterday, but he needed a good show.

"Excuse me, Detective?" In true Aguado fashion, her hackles went up almost immediately. She was going to cause a scene. Good.

"I was going to thank you for doing a good job this morning and you decide to snap at me? I don't care who you are or what you think you're doing, but that sort of disrespect undermines the cooperation of the task force and this entire department." Lacey placed one hand on her hip and used the other to point at him for emphasis.

Ramos swallowed as he prepared his response. "And I don't care who you are or what sort of pompous, high horse you're riding, but I've got more important things to do then listen to more of your whining right now." He almost winced as he spoke. He would have to apologize profusely and buy her a beer, or three, later.

The heated exchange had had the desired result, however. Everyone watched in stunned silence as Ramos picked up a few of his things from his desk. He surreptitiously glanced around the room and caught sight of Nacho hovering along the back wall. His partner nodded to him conspiratorially. Their plan was in motion.

Turning, Ramos stormed through the bullpen and made his way to the front door without a moment's hesitation. If anyone was watching him for Julio, it would have been impossible to miss his exit.

As soon as he had jogged across the parking lot, Ramos set out and made his way down main street. His plan was to take a long, circuitous path around town, while continuing to look as rushed as possible. As soon as he was certain he had give Nacho enough time to get cleanly away, he would call a taxi and get a ride out to the prison. If everything went according to plan they would be able to turn Julio's trap back on him.