"Where the hell do you get off calling me out like that!?" challenged Lacey the moment she had entered the meeting room that had been converted into the temporary headquarters of the anti-drug task force. The room was mostly empty, save for a few people filling out reports. Most of the task force members had clocked-out several hours ago. The interviewing and processing of the low-level scum had been left to the regular police to handle.

"Do you really want that kid's blood on your hands?" countered Ramos as he shut the door behind them. He was calm as ever, there was no point in getting into a shouting match with her. She was fiery, driven, and determined to prove herself, but she was green. She might have been one of the top ranking members behind the task force, but in terms of field experience she was little more than a rookie.

"What are you talking about?" To her credit, the fire in Lacey's eyes had dimmed. Her hackles were still up, but she seemed a little more cautious now. She wasn't stupid. If she wasn't so gung-ho all the time she might actually make a decent cop. Not that Ramos was willing to admit that to her face.

"You were about to pull Logan Morales out for questioning, right? Following up on the lead I gave you about his connection to Julio Romero." Ramos found it best to establish facts when one was arguing with someone who was technically a superior. Even if it was a superior who might as well have still been in diapers. He also found it helpful to adopt a non-confrontational pose. Arguing, by its very nature, was two people squaring off against one another. It was difficult to argue with someone who was doing other things, like getting a cup of coffee for example.

He approached the large coffee pot that had been set up for the task force in the corner of the room and proceeded to help himself to a cup.

"Yeah, and?" the tone in her voice was impatient and slightly accusatory as she folded her arms across her chest. She seemed to think she was above whatever he had to say about the situation.

"And you were about to pull him out in front of dozens of gang members who all have rap sheets as long as my arm. You have to understand how this looks from their perspective. You're the face of this task force. In their eyes, you're the top dog. The rumor mill is strong in situations like these, and they've no doubt heard that you've been questioning their boss," Ramos explained, doing his best to sound patient before inhaling the rich aroma of the coffee he'd poured.

Lacey seemed to be grinding her teeth together as she looked up at the ceiling and impatiently tapped her foot.

"You haven't wasted any of your time with the small fry," continued Ramos. He was trying to lead her to the answer herself. His former mentor had done something similar, and he felt like he was a stronger cop now because of it. Over the years he'd attempted to utilize the same tactic on every rookie he had the chance to. He liked to think that he'd helped to strengthen the force because of it.

"So what, you're saying they'd just assume that someone is important to the case because I talked to them?" Lacey spread her hands in front of her and cocked an eyebrow. "That's ridiculous. I could just be helping out for all they know."

"That's not how they think," said Ramos as he leaned against the edge of the long table in the center of the room and sipped his coffee. "They live in a world of suspicion and violence. Everyone's actions are suspect, nothing is a coincidence. In their world everyone is guilty until proven innocent. People like Logan Morales usually just end up as casualties in situations where everyone starts suspecting everyone else. He's expendable. They know that, their boss knows that, and Logan himself knows that."

Lacey lapsed into silence and looked away. She didn't seem upset exactly, just thoughtful. She did repeatedly crack her knuckles and chew on her lip while she thought.

If Ramos had been into girls, he might have found her attractive. She was pretty, strong, and seemed determined to rise to the top. She clearly had a strong sense of family too since she'd gone through all of this originally just to save her brother from getting prosecuted along with the rest of Julio's cronies.

He took a deep breath. If he was being perfectly honest with himself. She'd be the perfect girl to take home to meet his grandparents. The perfect way to keep them happy and stop their endless questions about why he was still single. He shook away those thoughts almost as soon as he'd thought them.

He'd tried something like that once before. It hadn't ended well. The girl in question had eventually learned the truth and hadn't been entirely happy about being used like that. Not that he really blamed her. She had, at least, agreed to keep his secret for the time being. Since then he'd pretty much given up on dating. It wasn't worth the time or the pressure. Instead he could claim he was married to his work and avoid dating altogether. Which wasn't far from the truth.

As it was, he had about five open case files on his desk right now. This raid against Julio had come out of the blue and taken everyone by surprise. There had been almost no warning before it had happened. The holding cells had been full of the usual rabble, most of the force was off duty. The call had gone out and given everyone less than thirty minutes to get ready. The holding cells had to be emptied out to make way for the incoming filth, which meant that most of the criminals went unprocessed before being released onto the streets.

It wasn't ideal, but the higher ups had deemed it necessary. Bringing down the drug lord that had plagued their island home for so long was well worth the risk.

"So what do we do then?" said Lacey. The fire had completely disappeared and had been replaced by a cool and calculating expression. She wasn't going to apologize, say thank you, or admit she was wrong. She was just going to move forward, this time soliciting his advice. Ramos could have been petty and told her to figure it out. After all, this entire situation was her mess and figuring it out was her problem. He knew any help he gave her would just make her look better to the higher ups. He wasn't that kind of guy though.

"I might have just had someone else pull him, but since you made it clear someone in that cell was a person of interest we can't do that anymore. The next person we pull is going to immediately come under scrutiny by the rest of the group." Ramos rubbed the back of his head and took a deep drink of coffee. The hot, bitter liquid burned as it slid down his throat, but it was an enjoyable sensation that sent a shiver of pleasure down his spine and cleared his mind. "We'll just have to pull them all."

"We don't have interview rooms for all of them," countered Lacey. "There's no way you can pull all six of them at the same time."

"Not all at once, just they're all going to have to be pulled one right after the other. We've been prioritizing the guys sitting on the benches, but those six just got bumped to the top of the list." Ramos twisted his head to one side until his neck popped. He groaned in a combination of pain and relief. He was achy and stiff all over. The shower had helped wake him up a bit, but it didn't change the fact that he hadn't slept in over twenty-four hours. The thought of conducting six interviews in a row left him feeling numb.

"You've already pulled Logan once though, doesn't interviewing him again immediately make him more suspicious?" reasoned Lacey, looking across at Ramos with a frown.

Dammit, she was right. Ramos clenched his jaw. Everything they did would be under scrutiny now. If they showed any additional interest in Logan, it would only upset the situation.

"Then we let him go," said Ramos after a moment.

"Are you insane?" Lacey's hackles were back up in an instant. "We can't just let him go. He's our best shot at cleaning up the rest of Julio's organization and excising this cancer for good."

"If we don't release him there's a good chance he gets shivved before morning." Ramos finished off his cup of coffee and tossed the empty cup towards the trashcan by the coffee pot. It bounced off the overflowing mountain of cups and rolled to the floor where several others had already come to rest. He shrugged and looked back at the young woman who was practically vibrating with angry energy.

"How the hell are we supposed to actually make use of him if we let him go? We lose all of our bargaining chips at that point." Lacey had clearly slipped completely into rookie mode.

"No, we don't." Ramos was careful to keep his tone neutral and non-accusatory. "We let him out. He gets a taste of freedom. We then threaten to take it away again. If anything, it strengthens our position because he feels like he's got more to lose."

Lacey chewed on her lip again for a few moments before responding, "Fine. We do this your way. We'll pull one of the thugs in the cell and question him, while releasing Morales. Once he's out, I'll pick him up and give him the offer."

"No," countered Ramos, standing up straight and stretching. "I'll pick him up. Pescado and I can deliver the offer. If you're seen near him in public it's only going to put even more of a target on his back. We're going to attract a lot less attention than you are."

"This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" she asked, looking somewhat crestfallen.

"I'm nowhere near clever enough for something like that," Ramos assured her as he made his way towards the door. "You shouldn't be so suspicious of your colleagues. We might be working together one day, as equals, you don't want to alienate yourself, do you?" He looked back at her with what he hoped would be received as a sincere smile.

Lacey huffed and turned away from him. She wasn't ready to accept any olive branches and that was just fine with him.

"Hey, Fuentes," Lacey spoke up before he could leave. She didn't turn to look back at him and her tone was quiet. The anger and frustration seemed to have evaporated from her voice.

"Yeah?"

"Is that what everyone out there thinks of me?" she asked. She was looking down at her feet and clutching the back of a nearby chair. The few other occupants in the room were far enough away that they couldn't have possibly heard her.

"What do you mean?" Ramos thought he understood what she was asking, but he wasn't the type to assume anything.

"I mean...do they all think I'm just a ladder climbing, suspicious, self-righteous asshole?" she finally looked back at him. She wasn't crying, but her expression was one that clearly spoke to how bothered she was by the possibility.

"No," said Ramos, after considering the situation for a moment. "They think you're an upstart rookie who is in over her head. They think you're going to jump ahead of them in the line for promotion to detective even though you don't have the same level of experience that they do. But they don't think you're a self-righteous asshole."

Lacey frowned. She clearly hadn't expected him to give her such a straightforward answer. "So they resent me?"

"A little," he agreed.

She pulled a hair band off of her wrist and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. "I think I can live with that," she said after a moment. "They wouldn't resent me if they didn't actually see me as a threat, right?" she seemed to be trying to give herself a pep talk.

"We just established that you shouldn't alienate yourself," Ramos warned her.

"I can't help how other people feel, Fuentes," said Lacey with a shrug. "If they want to resent me, then fine. Let them. I'm not here to make friends. I'm here to do a job. I appreciate the advice, but you can keep it to yourself."

Without another word, Lacey pushed past him and out through the door into the bullpen. Ramos followed a few steps behind until he caught sight of Ignacio sitting at his desk. He quickly broke off from Lacey's path of destruction and perched himself on the edge of his partner's desk.

"I see you met with the queen bee," said Ignacio as they watched her coordinate with several of the uniformed officers. "What's happening?"

"You and I are going for a bit of a ride," said Ramos with a grin. Hurricane Lacey was on a path of self-destruction, and he wasn't interested in being around when it hit.