Falling For Lucy

Episode 25 - Tough Love

Nolan is working his home renovation. Henry and his girlfriend arrive for the first visit ever.

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Chen's complaining about her dating life to Jackson. She's looking for her Goldilocks man. Not too soft, not too hard. Her mom shows up unprompted.

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Roll call starts. Rooks talking to each other. Just Angela & Tim sitting in their usual spots. When Harper enters she sits in the front row like a rookie.

Grey enters and goes to his podium. "So, Officer West, can you tell us what a friendly is?"

"Yes, sir. A friendly is another term for a confidential informant." West answered confidently.

"Correct. And confidential informants can be an incredibly useful tool."

"They are definitely tools." I joked and a few people around the room laughed.

"Are you saying you don't use them, Officer Bradford?" Grey asked.

" No, sir. Just saying that they're lying liars who lie. And they need to be dominated, never allowed to think they're in control." I replied.

"Officer Lopez, you agree?" Grey asked.

"No, sir. C.Is are most useful when they think they are part of the team." she answered.

"You're both wrong," Harper said.

"Please, school us detective." Grey prompted her.

"C.I.s are just people trying to get by. Some are psychopaths who play ball because its the best available option, some are people in over their heads who cling to you desperately as a way out of trouble. Treating them all the same is a mistake." Harper lectured us, with her eye contact ending on me.

"Well, it's time to put these theories to the test. Nolan, Chen, part of the second phase of your training is developing your first C.I. You've known this day was coming so I'm confident you have a plan of action in place. But be forewarned, you will be evaluated by the arrests generated by your C.I., as well as their long-term viability. So, choose wisely. Alright, that's it. Be safe." Grey dismissed us.

Angela immediately popped out of her seat to go fight for West. I was excited to see what Chen would come up with today. I headed to the gear desk to start loading the shop.

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We arrived at a pawn shop. We got out of our shop and walked up to the sidewalk. "What are we doing here, Boot?" I asked.

"As you're aware, pawn shops are required by law to notify law enforcement if they believe someone is trying to pawn stolen property. I pulled city records. This shop has never called us. Either the owner is a saint or-" She explained, nodding toward the entrance.

"Or he's dealing with a lot of stolen goods," I replied.

*Not bad.* I nodded my head.

"Exactly. Making them the perfect candidate for my first C.I." She smiled proudly.

"Don't get too cocky Officer Chen. Recruiting a reliable C.I. is hard work." I cautioned her.

Suddenly her personal phone starts ringing. She pulled it out and looked at it with a groan.

"Yes, sir," she responded, looking at her phone. When she looked up and saw my face, she frowned. "Sorry, my parents are... uh, never mind." She put her phone away and got back to work.

She opened the door to the establishment and a bell rang above us. We moved into the shop, junk cluttering the shelves everywhere.

"Morning," Chen said to the person running the store.