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Chapter Text

~After years apart, you come face to face with an old flame, as Micki Ramirez did in 'The One That Got Away'...she's with~
~a man who she loves now (TREY BARNETT); they have already taken the step of meeting one another's PARENTS and are not~
~just TOGETHER~they are IN LOVE and very much dedicated to making their relationship work...seeing GARRISON MURPHY~
~again, though really has the female half of 'Team Sassy Boots' shook ...

*****Del Rio, Texas (GARRISON MURPHY*****

After the initial burst of excitement from seeing 'the one that got away', once the adrenaline rush (driven by what some refer
to as the MIDBRAIN, partially responsible for controlling emotion) dissipated Micki Ramirez's logic center of her brain (aka the
CEREBRUM) took over, and she's reminded of the reason why she left-ran away from Garrison Murphy THEN, as an 18-year-old:
his penchant for reckless and self-destructive acts...YES, the devil-may-care attitude excited her in the beginning and is what
initially drew her to him (as a welcome departure from her widowed mother's strict and staid upbringing), she soon saw the danger
posed if she continued to stay with him. It pained her beyond words to leave her 'first love' at the altar, she did what was best for her
at the time. He stopped the car in the parking lot of that long-forgotten church...the sight of her 'flight to freedom' seventeen years
ago...

"Why are we here, Garrison? Hmmm? That was a long time ago; we were teenagers, and a lot has happened since then."

"Yeah, it has...the one thing that hasn't changed is that I still love you."

"I'm SORRY; I am. I've lived a lifetime since then, and so have you."

"I guess you know as well as I do what my life has been like Ranger Ramirez", Garrison, unable to keep all of the
bitterness out of his voice.

"So you know...why didn't you 'out' me to Serrano?"

"Hazte si quieres ; you KNOW WHY."

"T-That's...LO SIENTO, Gar ; I am...but I'm in love with someone else now. Not 'teenage first love'; grown woman
love and caring.”

Murphy smiled sadly. "Figures. Why wouldn't a woman like you have someone else in her life after all of these years...OKAY,
cool...I'll still help you with Serrano, but I want a deal. In my version, I get a full walk, $100 gee, and relocation outside'a Texas.
Can the DA make that work?"

"Let's put it to them. They're probably back at my 'cover' apartment by now, waiting for me to come back...we'd better get
back before I'm 'blown' an' call in the local Rangers."

Safely inside MIcki's 'cover apartment', she explained to new Travis County District Attorney Denise Davidson, her partner
Cordell Walker, and Ranger Captain Larry James that Garrison hoped to turn state and federal evidence against Northside Nation
and its leader, the brutal Tomas Serrano. "He wants full immunity...can we make that work?" she finished.

That's entirely dependent on what verifiable, credible, and indictable information you can provide, Mr. Murphy. And I don't
mean that you witnessed him take an extra newspaper from the vending machine: MAJOR FELONIES, Mr. Murphy. That's all that.

"I get it, Mrs. DA," Murphy drawled. Just to prove that I'm on the 'up'...I know where he keeps his paper files. You'll
find everything you need at a certain building not far from here, in a file cabinet on the first floor. Take off these cuffs and
I'll write down the address and draw you a map."

Denise nodded to Micki, who unlocked the criminal's handcuffs. "That's your ride." she nodded to the idling DPS (Texas
Department Of Public Safety) SUV about twenty feet away. "You're not ridin' with me?" Garrison grinned.

"I drove down on my own." She slapped the side of the black and white and it slowly drove away. "I call shogun!" Walker called;
but his partner shook her head no. "I have...a lot to figure out, like what I'm gonna say to Trey when I see him."

Walker nods. "Copy you. If I, uh ride along, y-you could bounce some ideas off of me."

Denise eyes them both before Ramirez says "Good idea. It's a long drive back...AI can go, Cap?"

"Go ahead. Take the weekend but I'll need that write-up by Wednesday latest."

"Copy you. DA Davidson; let's go, Walker." Denise continues to watch Micki's truck as it exits the parking lot, at least until
James interrupts her musing: "Yo, Denise! We're rollin' out."

////////

About twenty miles outside the city, Cordell said "Trey ain't happy to say the least. He's real confused about why he heard
from you exactly THREE TIMES in the 124 days you were down here-there...He uh...he's got a point."

"He does" Micki sighed. "I-I think part of the reason I took this assignment was things were getting 'too real' back in Austin.
I had a Mom's Brunch with his Mom and mine: A FUCKING MOM'S BRUNCH, Walker! I don't do those..I-I have
never in history been with anyone this long and...I dunno..."

"Scares you shit-less."

She glanced over to comment "That."

"Look...I can see that what you feel for Trey is real-as real as it gets. I uh...I think seein' Murphy again kinda solidified in your
mine that uncertainty. And if I guess right you haven't even called to let him know you're on the way back?"

"Right again. You were married a long time; I can fix this: right?"

*****Austin, Texas, Texas (CORDELL WALKER and GERI BROUSSARD*****

Geri Broussard shook her head, exasperated that once again, Cordell Walker is about to buck protocol and leave Austin for DEL
RIO against his boss' orders.

"James didn't say not to go down there." He reddened a little, aware that his counter-argument is weak, even to
his own ears.

"CORDI...forget it! You're going no matter what I say; just...please take Hoyt with you."

"Ummm-what the fuck for!"

"You can't take back up from DPS, and Trey has his hands full with your young'uns. You're takin' HOYT...or I call James"

Grumbling, Walker conceded. "It's gonna come out, Ger-that kiss. Sooner or later."

"It will...but we should make it LATER, yeah?"

He nodded. "Copy that...it was GOOD, though right?"

Geri said "More than good."

At the door, he turns to say "Me and...and Hoyt have been like brothers since-for YEARS, and...he-he's tryin', Ger."

'I know that Cordi; I do, and I'm worried about his reaction just as much as you; probably more. We have to explain
it but where do we even begin? Just blurt it out, like 'Hey Hoyt; I kissed your brother because you keep gettin' arrested'?"

"W-Welll...not uh quite like that," Cordell said. Let's sleep on it, ah look at it fresh tomorrow."

One more thing, Cordi...aside from the Hoyt issue...are we cheatin' on EMILY?"

Chapter Text

=====US ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, NEW YORK====

If she's honest, Angie doesn't really want to escape from Jamie, not after fifteen years of having done her best to forget him,...Who
could have predicted that she'd ever see him again, so long after he left 'the neighborhood? He's married now, with children, and
though either of those facts would preclude her from becoming involved with him, this is JAMIE ST. PATRICK...THE ONE WHO GOT
AWAY...

The FBI Agent who Jamie recently displaced, Greg Knox, tapped on her glass door and stuck his head in without waiting for her
response (she's been dreading this moment, knowing even as she 'ghosted' him" that sooner or later she'd have to face him...

"You're fucking somebody," her now former lover accuses.

“ You don't know what you're talking about," she retorts.

"Yeah, AUSA Valdez...that's not really a denial."

"And I'm not on trial, AGENT KNOX."

"Not yet, you aren't."

Angela is instantly furious: "Close the door," she seethes through gritted teeth. "You're fucking threatening me, Greg? Since you
really want to go there, LET'S: the answer is YES...how's that, you prick? Now get the fuck outta my office!"

"I ran prints on that jewelry case, Angie...JAMES ST PATRICK , reported drug lord? I mean...how good is the cock; I'm being
SERIOUS? To risk your career...federal charges? HAS TO BE GREAT."

She takes a step toward him, and because of the fury in her dark eyes he takes a step BACK: "Jamie really loves me," Angie said, her voice
low and with an undercurrent of menace. "He's impulsive, and he doesn't always act in his own best interest...even though your behaviour
just now is both low, juvenile, and way out of bounds, I won't tell him, or our Boss what happened here today. You should leave; I'll mail your
shit to you. He really loves me and I love him-maybe even more. And YES...he's the best I ever had, by far, speaking of his pilinga ."

After Knox huffs out, Angie composed herself before placing a call to the Assistant US Attorney responsible for the Del Rio area. "Yes...
AUSA Angela Valdez, Attorney General New York for AUSA Osvaldo Rico, please...sorry? YES, regarding Northside Nation..."

=====CPD-INTELLIGENCE UNIT====

/////

"Sam...doesn't Intelligence have more than enough on our plate without Del Rio, Texas and Westside or Southside Bronco Busters or
Fence Jumpers or whatever the hell they call themselves added to the steaming pile from METRO CHICAGO? I'm asking."

" Northside Nation : you aren't the least bit funny. Per the US Attorney, some of that 'steaming pile', as you so eloquently
stated is due to the Cartels' pipeline facilitated by NSN through Del Rio. The Texas Rangers, Del Rio PD, and DEA have made breaking
or at least slowing down the flow of narcotics and people through Texas a priority. The USA wants seasoned narcotics Detectives sent:
there to pose as high-level traffickers-I'd suggest Atwater, Rojas, and Ruzek. Erin Lindsay's on loan from the FBI."

"SAM..."

"It's happening, Hank. They want all four in Del Rio by the weekend; what's your plan?"

Voight's brow furrowed, then smoothed. "Rojas and Atwater have run this multiple times as a couple, with 'Ruz' as their partner.
I'll need at least two Narcotics dicks, one DEA to stand in for those three."

"Fine. Watch for an email from my office with travel, expenses, etc. That's all."

"Deputy Superintendent Miller."

I'll need

"Sergeant Voight." Voight turns and stops at the door to her office:

I'll need

" By the way; how are you doin'?"

"Struggling. Day to day. You know." She's talking about the murder of her only child).

"True that. My boy's gone,...four years now-four and a half? I wish I could say that it gets better. It doesn't." He nods, and
and is gone. On his way to the parking lot, he reflects on how true his statement to his Boss had been. He still misses his
son, and he knows that he always will. The drive back to the 21st District takes twenty minutes in mid-afternoon traffic; once
there he briefs his team on The Deputy Superintendent's instructions: Atwater, Rojas-see Platt about a UC crash pad. You're a
couple-import and export of meth and black market arms. It's best if you're in place by the time Erin Lindsey gets here first
of next week. Erin's on loan from the feds. Kev and Vanessa go ahead and get goin'."

Jay said, "If Erin's coming back the Feds are involved."

"Right," Voight confirmed. "The CIRG-Critical Incident Response Group from New York..it's their 'op'."

"And what's the critical incident part of this?" asked Upton.

Voight provided a brief overview of NorthSide Nation, the Eastern European crime syndicates, Mexican cartels, and their relation-
why the CIRG...Miller said to afford them every courtesy when they arrive Monday or Tuesday."

"Me an' Kim can look into Canaryville if you want, Sarge-our covers are still good there with Milos."

'OK; good. Jay and Hailey let's dig into the money and get to work on warrant requests for when we start knockin' down doors.
OK-that's it."