Origins1

Nash paced up and down rapidly with energy to burn. His patience was running out as he wore a path in the lobby of the capital building. He just knew that it had to work. He just knew it was going to happen. He had checked all the angles. He had crossed all of his T’s. He knew that the special task force was exactly what the city needed right now and he already knew who was going to lead that team.

“Will you please stop pacing?” Bryn begged as she leaned back against the marble pillar, sucking on a Tootsie Pop. “You’re making me tired.”

“This is going to work, Bryn,” Nash told her with certainty as he continued to pace. “We’ll get the best people. Hell, you, AJ and me could waltz all over this city on our own, but with the city behind us,” he left the possibilities dangling as his mouth watered in anticipation. “Damn this is going to be good.”

Bryn laughed at him. “I don’t think I’ve seen you this nervous since you married Kelly.”

Nash held up a hand to forestall that topic of conversation. “Ooo, bad karma there, sister. My soon to be ex is giving me a hard enough time without you rubbing it in.”

“Sorry bubba,” she returned with a chuckle. “Okay, new topic. What do you think of Leek?” she asked.

“Harvey?” he said and received a nod. Discussing possible candidate for their unit had become casual conversation for Nash, AJ and Bryn. Harvey was someone that she had mentioned before. “I worked with him a couple of years ago.” He considered the suggestion for a long moment. “He seemed okay. A little out there though. Isn’t he a Dead Head or something?”

Bryn chuckled as she checked her progress on her sucker. “You could say that.”

“Yeah, he insisted on introducing me to a few of his bootlegs when we were working the same case.” He smiled at the memory. Nash couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something special about Harvey. He didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of the officer in the first place. He had been a wiz with electronics. Nash looked expectantly down the hallway, then at his watch, then back down the hall. “What is taking so long?” he mumbled.

“Have you seen him recently?” she asked; trying to keep him distracted. He was actually making her nervous.

“It’s been about a year since I’ve seen him,” he admitted. Bryn’s eyes grew wider for a moment and she tried to cover, but Nash had seen the look. “What?” he asked hesitantly.

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Oh no,” Bryn said as she leaned toward Nash and lowered her voice. “Here comes that Cortez kid,” she whispered when she saw him coming through the front doors. “He’s been bugging me about the special investigation taskforce for days.”

Nash chuckled. “Yeah, me too. I’m half tempted to give the kid a break and see what he’s got.”

“Don’t even joke about that Nash,” she shot back.

“Hey Nash,” Evan said as he joined the conversation. “Have you heard anything about the task force yet?” he asked, barely giving Bryn a glance.

“Not yet,” he returned as he stared up the empty hallway once more. “We’re still waiting.” At that moment, Nash and Bryn caught the scent in the air and took a step back from Evan. “Whoa bubba. That’s some heavy-duty cologne you’ve got on there.”

Evan laughed nervously, and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that he should have stopped for a shower, but he was anxious to find out if there would be a slot opening up for him. “It’s not me. I’ve pulled a babysitting gig and the guy practically bathes in the stuff. The whole place reeks of it.” His eyes darted back and forth between the two of them as they shared a glance. “I’m surprised the bad guys haven’t sniffed him out yet.”

“That’s what you’re there for, bubba,” Nash returned with a chuckle. He reached out to give him a pat on the shoulder, but stopped short when he thought of the heinous cologne and held both hands up.

“Well...take a couple of steps back,” Bryn insisted as she put a hand to her nose. “You’re making my sucker taste funny,” she admitted and received a chuckle from Nash.

“There’s AJ,” Nash said as he grabbed Bryn’s arm briefly and all three of them hustled to meet him. “What’s the word?” Nash asked excitedly.

AJ gave Evan a curious glance, then rubbed a finger under his nose. “You know, bathing would probably help that problem,” he told Evan and received a laugh from Nash and Bryn.

Evan laughed awkwardly with the others. “Yes sir.”

AJ looked back at Nash, his face a somber mask. “It’s good news bad news time bubba,” he told them.

Nash shot a glance at Bryn, who had a smile inching up on her face, then back at AJ. “We got the green light?”

“We got the green light.”

“Yes!” Nash said simply, then hugged Bryn and shook AJ’s hand. “Thanks bro. I know you had a lot to do with this.”

“You have no idea,” AJ returned.

Nash recognized the tone in his voice. It was much too serious when they should be celebrating. “The commissioner give you trouble?” he asked knowingly. He had never seen eye-to-eye with the police commissioner and it only seemed to antagonize him when Nash would get the impossible done.

“To say the least,” AJ informed him as he slipped his hands into his pocket. “What in the hell did you do to the guy, Nash? He’s sniffing around for blood.”

Nash waved it off. “Ah, he’s just mad because I dated his wife.” He held his hands wide when the other three gaped at him. “Before they were married,” he clarified in a tone that let them know that their minds were definitely going down the wrong path. But he still chuckled. Nothing was going to ruin that day. They finally had the go ahead.

“Well, I hope it was a good one because Commissioner Wallace wants the SIU closed before it even opens.”

“The SIU?” Nash asked hesitantly.

“Special Investigations Unit.” One corner of his mouth lifted in a smile while Nash thought on that for a long moment then gave a nod of approval. AJ gave Evan another curious look when he started to nod as well.

“So where are they putting us?” Bryn asked, her eyes glistening in excitement.

“That’s one of the catches,” he returned. “We’re getting stuck on an incomplete building site.”

“What?” Nash asked in confusion.

“You heard me right,” he returned. “It was suppose to be a bank, but then they realized there was a problem after the last quake so we’re stuck with it. And we can’t move into our permanent home until it’s retrofitted. Several of the units are getting shuffled around because of that.”

“What’s the other catch?” Nash asked hesitantly. He knew there had to be more. The local of the unit was only a minor problem. He knew AJ wouldn’t be concerned about that.

“They’re sticking the Tenderloin Precinct in with us.”

Evan darted each of them a look when Bryn and Nash groaned. “So what’s wrong with the Tenderloin Precinct?” he asked.

“Rick Bettina,” all three said in unison.

“Is he that guy that...”

“Wrecked the fishing trawler,” AJ said.

“And three squad cars,” Bryn added

“And took out a supermarket all in one afternoon,” Nash concluded.

Evan chuckled. “I thought that was like an urban myth or something.”

“Unfortunately, he’s real,” AJ said solemnly and looked back at Nash. “I think that was why the commissioner gave in and let us have the SIU on a trial basis. He liked the idea of saddling us with Bettina. In fact, it was the first time I’ve ever seen the commissioner smile.”

“I’ll bet he did,” Nash returned sarcastically. “But you know what AJ? None of that’s going to matter because we’ve got our unit,” he said with enthusiasm. “We’re finally going to be able to put some of our ideas into play. You did get the head, right?” he asked belatedly.

AJ nodded. “I’ll be overseeing the unit,” he said with his passive voice. “You’re lucky that the mayor has a soft spot for you. We get to hand pick our team.”

Nash was grinning from ear to ear. “It’s happening bubba.” He gave AJ a slap on the shoulder then wrapped his arm around Bryn. “We’ve got personnel files to go through. It’s going to be a long night and I’m buying,” he said cheerfully as they started to walk off. AJ shot Evan another look, then walked off with Nash and Bryn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was small. Most of the meager space was taken up with the large table in the center, and nearly every square inch of the scarred, wooden surface was hidden by files. The smell of paper and coffee hung in the air. The three people sitting at the table passed files back and forth, discussing the merits, or lack thereof, of the men and women within those folders.

"What about this one?" Nash slid the file over to AJ as Bryn leaned closer to take a look. "She's with Narcotics right now, but I bet I could talk her into transferring."

Reading the name, Bryn nodded thoughtfully. "Eve. Yeah, I worked with her once before. She's good. It'll be nice to have another woman on the team, too."

"What's the matter, Carson? Feeling outnumbered?" AJ smiled crookedly at her, knowing full well that Bryn could hold her own in any situation.

"By you two clowns? Puhlease." All three laughed good-naturedly and Nash laid Eve's file in the pile of 'possibles'.

AJ looked through the file in front of him and sighed. This one wouldn't work out. Dropping the file into the box by his chair, he reached for another folder. The number of files in the discard box was far outweighing the pile of 'possibles' on the table, but that was what they wanted. Only the best would do right down to the file clerk that he had swiped from his former commander. AJ smiled when he read the name on the label of the new folder. He read through the pages and passed the file to Nash. "What about this kid?"

"Evan Cortez?" Both men looked up when Bryn groaned and rolled her eyes. "No way, Nash. That kid's been bugging the hell out of us to join the team ever since this thing started."

"Yeah, he reminds me of me." Nash laughed with a grin, remembering his own eagerness when he was a young cop. "That's why I want him." Smiling broadly, AJ took the folder back from Nash and added it to the pile of 'possibles'.

Sighing, Bryn glanced through the pages in front of her. She couldn't believe so much talent was going to waste within the department. "Well, if you two are getting Cortez, I want this one." She slid the folder over to Nash, who pushed it a little closer to AJ so they could both read it.

"Harvey Leek?" AJ frowned, trying to recall the name. "Isn't he a computer geek or something?"

"Yeah, I worked with him a couple times on surveillance. He's brilliant with electronics, if I remember correctly. And, with a photographic memory…I'm sure I do." Nash chuckled when Bryn managed a fake laugh. "But isn't he…let’s see, how do I put this... a little eccentric?"

Smiling, Bryn shook her head. "He's a little...” She tried to think of a word to describe Harvey, knowing none would truly do him justice. “Quirky,” she finally settled on. “But he's extremely intelligent and a team player.” That was a major factor for all of them. The SIU had to function as a unit or it wouldn’t work. “He has extensive knowledge of computers and electronics and it says here that he even took some training with the bomb squad once.” Her eyes skimmed down the file to look for more of his finer qualities. “Um, he was a chemistry minor in college. That could come in handy."

A crooked smile rose on AJ’s face. “Are you reading his resume or his personal ad, Carson?” he teased.

Nash tapped at his lip. “You’ve got a little drool right there.”

“He’s married,” she volunteered in defense as the other two chuckled. “Not happily, mind you, but what cop is?” That brought the laughter level up a notch. She knew that the pair of them would tease her unmercifully, but that didn’t matter as long as Harvey made the cut. She was confident that she would be vindicated once they saw him in action and she was looking forward to working with him again.

Nash looked over at AJ, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. I've never worked with the guy. I'll trust your instincts on that one."

Looking back at Bryn, Nash raised an eyebrow. He had already planned on including Harvey Leek the moment Bryn mentioned his name, but he enjoyed watching her squirm. "Well?"

Bryn shrugged. "He's smart and has the training.” She smiled slyly. “Besides, I think he’s nice." She didn’t mind setting herself up for their jokes. Turn about was fair play, she thought, and they picked the Cortez kid. She was definitely going to enjoy bringing that point up. Repeatedly.

"He's a possible then. Put him in the pile with the others."

The rest of the day passed in the same fashion as the morning. File after file…after file. Nash was going to make sure that this team had only the best the San Francisco Police Department had to offer. Special Investigations Unit. He nodded at the title. They were going to make a real difference in the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was already after midnight before AJ, Nash and Bryn were finally finished with all of the files. People would start transferring in first thing in the morning, which meant by the time they got home, they would have exactly six hours for sleep. That didn’t daunt Nash, though. He was still flying when Bryn and AJ tossed him a lazy wave in farewell. He was more than ready for a few Zs himself, but he had one stop to make first.

Nash was leaning against the door jam when a bleary eyed Evan pulled open his apartment door wearing nothing but boxer shorts covered in red hearts. Nash was hard pressed to keep from laughing especially when he saw the Flock of Seagulls hairdo.

“Nash?” Evan said with confusion. He wasn’t entirely sure he was even awake.

He tried to fix a more serious expression on his face, but he couldn’t help the smile. He handed Evan a slip of paper. “Be at that address at 7am and be ready to work.” The stunned look on Evan’s face was worth the trip, as far as he was concerned. He chuckled, then walked away. “Nice shorts,” he said over his shoulder, laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harvey was leaning over his desk, squinting at the computer screen as he tried to focus on the endless parade of numbers. He had been hacking away at the computer program for days and he still couldn’t find the bug. His head was splitting from staring at the oscillating figures. He sighed heavily as he rubbed at his eyes again. “This wouldn’t be so bad if it was something interesting,” he grumbled. “Who cares if interdepartmental memos get lost?” He tapped at the keyboard repetitively. “That’s a plus in my book.”

His chair squeaked noisily as he leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head to stretch. He shook his head as he folded his arms over his chest and stared blankly at the screen. “Please God, take me away,” he mumbled.

Suddenly, the door to his insignificant corner of the world opened and there stood two figures bathed in light. “Your wish is granted.”

Harvey looked up and blinked. He recognized the voice, but couldn’t put a face to it until they stepped inside. “Nash Bridges?” He shook his head as if trying to clear it. “Fumes must be leaking in from the motor pool again.”

“You’re not dreaming, bubba,” Nash chuckled. “Pack your bags. You’re history.”

Bryn grabbed Harvey’s hand and pulled him out of his chair. “Come on Harvey. We’re springing you from this joint.”

“Great. Let’s go,” Harvey said without hesitation, grabbing his beret and jacket.

“Don’t you even want to know why or where?” Nash asked, surprised when Harvey jumped at the offer.

“I don’t care,” he returned. “Let’s get out of here.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nash looked around at all of the activity filling the domed building that they would be calling home for now. Contractors and masonry workers mingled in with uniformed and undercover officers. Boxes and boards were continually on the move. The elevator attached to the scaffolding was pausing from its repetitive trip from top to bottom only long enough to load and unload. Nash sucked in a deep breath, then smiled contentedly. Even with the headaches, this was his day. This was his unit. The SIU had been his brainchild from the beginning, but having AJ and Bryn’s support had been invaluable. None of it would have existed without them.

“I think he’s in love, Lieutenant,” Bryn said from several yards behind Nash as she leaned back against AJ. “What do you think?”

Nash turned to see his two cohorts, his lips twisting and contorting as he tried to erase the exuberance from his face.

“I’d say he looks a little doe-eyed,” AJ returned, his own grin inching up.

“We’ve got almost everyone here,” Nash informed him, trying to keep the focus on business and not how satisfied he appeared. “We should have the rest by the end of the day.”

“Yeah,” Bryn confirmed as she looked over her shoulder at their superior. “We hijacked Harvey early this morning to get the computers hooked up. We only have one so far. Something about compatibility with the older computers and new hardware here.”

“Harv’s working with the electrician trying to get it sorted out,” Nash concluded.

“The sooner we get everything up and running the better,” AJ remarked. “The commissioner arranged for us to be sent a stack of backlogged cases.” He shook his head. “A bunch of nickel and dime thefts and unsolved cases. It looks like he wants us to clean up his mess before we even have a chance to get started.”

Nash waved him off. “Don’t worry about him, AJ. We just need one good case to make our mark, then the commissioner will have to back off.”

“That may be wishful thinking bubba,” he cautioned in return. He knew how high Nash had set his sights with the Special Investigations Unit and he didn’t want to see his friend come crashing down because of a grudge from an old rival.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evan walked up to Nash eagerly when he saw him sorting through his new desk. “How’s it going Nash?” he asked excitedly. He had hoped to be getting to work right away, but not as a pack mule.

Nash glanced up at him, doing a double take when he saw that Evan had sweat through his silk shirt. “I suppose I should have told you that today was casual dress.”

Evan glanced down at his ruined clothes that he had bought just for his first day at work at the SIU. There had never been any doubt in his mind that he would be working with Nash one day. It was destined. Everyone told him from the moment he graduated from the academy that he was a young Nash Bridges. Now it was time to find out if they were right. “These old things.” The tone of his voice wasn’t at all convincing and Nash laughed.

“Whatever you say, bubba.” Nash shook his head as he turned back to the case file. AJ was right. The commissioner was sending them rookie cases and he was not happy with that at all. They would definitely have to dig up something on their own if they wanted to hang onto their new station.

“I’ve finished carrying in the equipment,” Evan began again, hoping to find out what his first case assignment would be. His talents were being wasted hauling boxes. “What’s next on the agenda boss?” He rubbed his hands together anxiously.

Nash glanced up at him once more then down at the stack of files he was sorting through. “You can help me with these files, I suppose, but what we really need is another computer expert.”

“I majored in computers in college,” Evan said eagerly. Finally, something worth his talents.

“Well why didn’t you say so, bubba.” Nash jumped up from his chair and led Evan over to the stockpile of computer equipment. “What we need is to get all this stuff set up and then to get it linked up to the main frame. Apparently there is some problem with system compatibility.”

“Piece of cake,” Evan returned, then saw a guy pop up from behind one of the desks and start tapping at one of the keyboards. “Whoa. Get a load of this guy,” he mumbled as he shook his head at the psychedelic vest worn over his jacket. “He looks like a 60s flashback.”

Nash looked Evan over from head to toe. From his high mound of hair down to his wide sideburns and trendy clothes, it was obvious that Harvey wasn’t the only one who chose a particular look. “I’m glad you approve.” He gave Evan a hard slap on the back to let him know that his remark wasn’t appreciated. “He’s your new partner.”

New partner? he balked. Surely Nash had been kidding. Evan watched the guy for a long moment, then shook his head. His new partner had to be at least ten years older than he was, dressed funny, wore a ridiculous armband and talked to himself. Great. Just great.

Shrugging, figuring he'd just have to make the best of it, Evan grabbed some equipment and headed over to an empty desk. Setting the hard drive and keyboard on the desk, Evan went back for a monitor. He noticed that his new partner had finally stopped talking to himself and was now smiling in satisfaction.

Turning to the desk behind him to get the equipment for the next computer, Harvey almost bumped into someone. Smiling apologetically, he stuck out his hand. "Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Harvey Leek."

Shaking the proffered hand, Evan shrugged. "Evan Cortez. Nash says you and I are to be partners."

"Oh, yeah? Guess we'll be getting to know one another soon enough, then." Eying the younger man as he picked up a monitor, Harvey smiled. "Need a hand getting that thing together? It's been a little tricky."

"I think I can handle it, but thanks," Evan shot back, a little sarcastically.

Harvey's smile dropped and he tugged on his ear, a little puzzled. "O-kay. Well, I'll just be over here if you need anything." He grabbed a monitor and headed over to Bryn's desk to get her system up and going. Cocky little cuss, isn't he? I have a feeling today is going to be a day of learning for my new partner. He glanced back at Evan and noticed that his hair didn’t move even when he leaned over the hard drive to attach cables. “Wonder if I should break the news that Elvis is dead?”

Chuckling to himself, Harvey set the monitor down and waved Bryn over to find out where she wanted the computer situated. The two joked around while Harvey struggled to get everything hooked up and running. He liked Bryn. She was smart, experienced and tough. Nash was just as he remembered, nice but somehow intimidating as well. Harvey had heard many rumors about Nash over the years, some too bizarre to be believed, but he had no doubt that working with Nash was going to be quite interesting.

Harvey glanced around as he screwed in the power cords to the hard drive, his eyes falling on Lieutenant Shimamura as he made his way over to Nash’s desk. AJ was the wild card. He wasn't sure what to make of him yet.

Sitting on the corner of Nash's desk, AJ watched the new members as they walked back and forth, trying to get everything set up. Casting Nash a crooked smile, AJ raised an eyebrow. "Well, what do you think?"

Knowing exactly what AJ was referring to, Nash laughed softly. "Well, I think Bryn and Harvey hit it off pretty well and Eve seems to be getting along with everyone pretty well. And Evan…well, Evan is working under a handicap."

AJ looked at him curiously. "Such as?"

"I think there may be a few lessons in his near future,” he said cryptically.

"Dare I ask what lessons?" AJ wasn't sure he really wanted to know.

"Oh, I think our young charge is way too sure of himself. That could get him in trouble, or get him dead. But, I think his new teammates are about to solve that little problem for us." Nash pointed over to Harvey who continually cast worried looks over at Evan. They only had to wait a few moments until Harvey said something to Bryn then went to look over Evan's shoulder. Smiling, Bryn walked over to join Nash and AJ. "Hey, Nash, 20 bucks says Harvey wins their little argument."

Laughing, AJ pulled out his wallet. "No way, Bryn. I remember what Nash was like when he was that young. My $20 says Evan won't listen and ends up crashing the computer."

"That hurt, AJ.” Nash smiled wryly and pulled out his own wallet. "But, I have to agree with you. Evan's going to learn the hard way."

Unaware of the little betting pool, Harvey tried to help his new partner. "Hey, Evan, you're gonna crash it. Here, let me show you how I've worked around that problem." He reached for the keyboard, but his hands were brushed away.

A little indignant that Harvey didn't seem to think he knew much about computers, Evan frowned. "I think I know what I'm doing, Leek. Thanks anyway." He continued to tap away at the keyboard.

"No, seriously Evan,” he tried again. He didn’t want to be a jerk, but he didn’t want to have to piece together another hard drive either. “No, you don't…wait." Harvey reached out to grab Evan's hand, but the younger man raised his elbow to block him.

"What are you doing?” Evan looked up at him annoyed at the repeated interruption. “Believe it or not, you’re not the only one around here who knows how to set up a computer. I know what to do, so why don't you just go back to your own computer, huh?" That said he turned back to his monitor, assuming his “new partner” was slinking back to his corner. I can't believe that guy's audacity.

Desperate to get Evan to stop what he was doing, Harvey unintentionally raised his voice. "If you don't stop, you're going to…"

"Damn!" Evan stared in anger at the suddenly blank screen.

"Crash it." Dropping his head in his hands for a moment, Harvey searched for patience.

Bryn groaned when AJ and Nash both held out their hands. "Great. Now, I'm out $40. I need to talk to Harvey about assertiveness."

“Illegal gambling going on in the city’s new ‘Special Investigations Unit?’” Rick Bettina asked sarcastically, gesturing with the first two fingers of each hand to make quotes.

Nash sat up a little straighter. “No actually, we’re her suppliers. She’s paying off a shipment of Tootsie Pops smuggled in across the border by the Lollipop Guild.”

“Very funny, very funny,” Rick returned as the trio laughed. “But I’m the one who’s going to get the last laugh this time,” he said with certainty, anxious to let Nash know just how far he had fallen out of favor. “And do you know why?” he asked rhetorically. “Because the commissioner has just dropped this plum assignment in my lap and, trust me my friend, this is major.”

Nash feigned serious thought as he glanced up at his friends. “Well, the fishing trawlers are still out, so I’m stumped.”

Bryn gave them a doubtful look. “Yeah, and I don’t think they’re going to let him near the motor pool again.”

“That’s right. Keep them coming,” Rick said, encouraging the insults because he knew that he would be vindicated in the end. “We’ll see who’s still laughing when the owner of Paracles Systems is handing me the 3.2 mill reward check for recovering their stolen processing chips.”

Nash glanced at his two colleagues once more. “Correct me if I’m wrong here Rick, but, as an employee of the city, isn’t it against the rules for you to accept the reward?”

“Semantics. Semantics,” he said, brushing it aside. “Be sure to wave when you see me on my perch overlooking the city.” He grinned with satisfaction, then walked away.

AJ looked at Bryn who was smiling from ear to ear, then at Nash who had the same expression on his face. “I see that we’re all on the same wavelength.”

If Bettina thought he was going to solve a case like that on his own, he was sadly mistaken. As far as Nash was concerned, the man's IQ was about the same as his shoe size. However, a case like that was just what he and his team needed to get the commissioner off their backs. They'd just have to stay a step or two ahead of Rick. That shouldn't be too hard. Nash chuckled at the thought, earning him curious looks from AJ and Bryn.

Shooting them a Cheshire grin, Nash nodded. "Boys and girls, I think we just found our first real case."

Loud voices drew his attention back to Evan and Harvey. "I guess I'd better keep Harvey from killing Evan on the first day."

AJ watched Bettina strutting over to his desk, and narrowed his eyes. "While you do that, I think I'll see what I can find out about this case of Bettina's."

Taking AJ's seat on the corner of the desk, Bryn smiled around her Tootsie Pop. She didn't know which show she should be watching…Nash chewing out Evan, or AJ pumping Bettina for information.

Smiling at the way Harvey was making small, frustrated gestures with his hands, Nash listened to the argument as he walked toward the pair.

"I tried to tell you, Evan, but you wouldn't listen."

"So, you're saying this problem wouldn't have happened if you were the one hooking this computer up, is that it? What, are you some kind of computer genius or something?" Evan couldn't believe this had happened to him. On the first day, no less. Not exactly the impression he'd wanted to make.

Tilting his head, Harvey sighed. "I'm not saying I'm smarter than you, man. All I'm saying is: I spent the better part of the morning working out that very problem and could've kept you from making that mistake if you had just let me."

Holding up a hand to cut off whatever argument Evan was going to make, Nash shook his head. "Harvey's right. He tried to help you and you refused. I've seen your file, Evan, and you're a good cop. You have to be, or you wouldn't be here right now, but guts and glory will only get you so far.” He glanced at Harvey then at Evan as they sized each other up again. He knew that he made the right decision teaming them up. “Once the two of you stop circling each other and marking your territory, I know that you will both play off of each other’s strengths and be better cops because of it.”

In other words, Harvey thought, we’re stuck with each other. “Point made.”

Nash paused a moment to let that sink in, then continued. "There is one thing that is vital to this unit and that's teamwork." Pointing at Harvey, Nash leaned closer to Evan. "This man is your partner and you have to learn to trust him. He has to be able to trust you, too. He's been around longer than you have. Listen to him; I think you'll be surprised what you can learn. Understand bubba?"

Looking from Nash to Harvey and back, Evan slowly nodded. He knew he'd screwed up. He'd tried too hard to make a good impression and it had backfired. Evan knew what he had to do to make up for it. "Yes, sir, I do. Listen, Harvey, I'm sorry. I should've listened, but I just wanted to make a good impression, you know?"

Ducking his head for a moment then looking back up, Harvey smiled. "It's okay, Evan. First days are hard for everyone."

"Well, I'm glad we got that worked out. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe the Lieutenant has something for me." Nash returned to his desk where AJ and Bryn were waiting for him wearing smug looks on their faces.

"AJ, you look like the cat that ate the canary. What did you find out from our resident village idiot?"

Suppressing a smile, AJ leaned in closer so they wouldn't be overheard. "Well, it seems those chips are worth a cool $32 million. It shouldn't be too hard to find out who has them. There isn't that many people who could unload something like that."

Rubbing his lip, his mind already turning over ideas, Nash sighed. "Well, let's all spread the word to our C.I.s and see what we can come up with. Time to start pounding the pavement, troops."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Evan walked up to Nash’s desk and draped an arm over his computer monitor as he leaned over the desk. “Eugene Ferguson,” he said with pride, waiting expectantly.

Nash blinked several times to get Evan into focus after staring at the monitor for so long. “Okay, I’ll bite. Who’s Eugene Ferguson?”

“He’s the guy who pulled off the Paracles robbery.”

“Hey guys!” Nash called to the rest of their team working nearby and waved them over to his desk. As AJ, Bryn and Harvey gathered around, Nash gave Evan the floor. “So who is Eugene Ferguson and where do we find him?”

“That’s the catch,” Evan returned. “No known address. The guy’s a major pothead,” he explained. “He never stays in one place for very long. He’s too paranoid. Strictly small time.”

“Well, at least we’ve got a name to work with,” Nash said as he looked around at his team.

“The smoke houses down in the Haight would be a good place to start looking,” Harvey suggested softly.

“That’s a good idea,” AJ agreed.

“Do we have a description?” Nash asked Evan.

“Five ten. Blond hair. Thin, scraggly beard, according to my CI.”

“That’s a little vague there bubba. Why don’t you see if you can find a mug shot,” he suggested as his mind whirled in several directions at once. “Harv? Are you known around the smoke houses?”

Harvey shook his head. He already knew where Nash was going with the question. “No more than the next guy. I could do undercover without any problem.”

“We’re still a little short handed,” AJ reminded him. “Until all of our personnel are in place, everyone’s going to have to do some grunt work.”

Nash nodded in agreement. “You and I can handle the surveillance van without any problem, but I don’t think Harvey should go in alone.” He didn’t even notice Evan squirming beside him as he looked the other way. “Bryn. Break out your tie-dye baby. You’re going in with him.”

“What about me?” Evan blurted out finally as he bounced on his toes. An undercover gig was just what he was itching for.

“You’ve got a hard drive to rebuild,” AJ said without sympathy.

“Later partner,” Harvey said cheerfully. An assignment out of the office was exactly what he needed.

“Fax us the picture when you get it,” Nash instructed, gave Evan a hard slap on the shoulder then walked off with the other three.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harvey glanced around at the room strewn with sprawled out customers, but none of them appeared to match the mug shot Evan had faxed to them. The fog was so dense in the smokehouse that his eyes were watering. He turned to tell Bryn that they would make it quick and noticed she had her hand over her nose and mouth. He leaned close to her as he stole another look around, hoping no one had noticed. “What are you doing?” he asked softly.

“Try...” she began, but her hand muffled her voice and she moved it just long enough to speak. “Trying not to breathe this stuff,” she returned, then clapped her hand back over her mouth.

Harvey took her hand and gently pulled it down. “Which will send up red flags to everyone in this room,” he informed her. He darted another glance around. “It doesn’t look like anyone is conscious enough to have noticed,” he remarked. “Look. Here’s what you do. Take a deep breath before coming in, then breath shallow while inside. Sit down to talk; it puts you below the smoke. If anyone catches you holding you breath, they’re going to assume you’re 5-O which isn’t going to help our situation any.”

She nodded, already attempting shallow breathing. “Is that going to keep us from getting high?” she asked.

“Oh no. We’re going to get stoned, but it will take a little longer. Besides, grass wears off fairly quickly.” When he realized what he had said, he shot her a look. “So I’ve heard.”

“Uh huh,” she returned with a knowing smile.

Harvey chuckled, then they continued searching from room to room. Eugene Ferguson was proving to be elusive. They knew that he wasn’t the mastermind behind the chip heist. If nothing else, the fact that he was making it well known that he was looking for a buyer told him that he didn’t have the brains to pull it off. Those chips were a hot commodity and Ferguson was flashing a neon sign over his head by advertising the fact he had them. It was only a matter of time before they caught up to him. Harvey just hoped it wouldn’t be to introduce him to a body bag.

He asked the conscious people if they knew where he could find Eugene Ferguson, but no one was able to help. He wasn’t surprised. Most transactions there were nameless and faceless because of the drug-induced haze, which didn’t help their search at all. He had a feeling that it was going to be a very long day. “Come on Bryn. Let’s get out of here.”

Three marijuana houses later, they were still no closer to finding their suspect. Nash shook his head as he looked at Bryn and Harvey who sat on stools in the back of the surveillance van. Now, there is an odd couple if ever there was one, he thought. Harvey was in his usual clothes consisting of brown cords, a white Grateful Dead t-shirt and a cream jacket with a brightly colored vest over it. As if that wasn’t enough, he wore a bright red beret and had added a black Grateful Dead armband to his unique style. Harvey was definitely in his element tromping around the Haight Ashbury district.

Bryn, on the other hand, had put on a few choice items to make herself fit in. She was wearing a patchwork skirt and a tie-dyed t-shirt belted at the waist with a rainbow-colored rope. She had even managed to dig up a pair of bright pink sunglasses and Nash started to chuckle at the thought of the eyes behind those pink shades. He had no doubt that it wasn’t only the glasses that made her eyes look so dreamy.

Harvey removed his beret to rub a hand through his short, curly hair. The headache that had been pounding at the last house had become a pleasant buzz that made him smile. It felt so good to be in the field again. He felt like he had been chained to a desk for years. He couldn’t believe that he was actually relaxed after months of tension headaches. He leaned his elbow on the monitoring equipment and inadvertently knocked a clipboard to the floor. “Oops,” he said and bent to retrieve it, but the movement of the van had the clipboard sliding away and Harvey couldn’t keep himself from leaning toward it.

“Whoa,” Nash said as he put his hand on Harvey’s shoulder to keep him on his stool. “Hang on there bubba. I’ll get that.” He easily recovered the board and returned it to its hook. “How are you holding up, Harv?” he asked suspiciously.

“I’m good,” he returned with pep, not realizing that his heavy lids were covering blood red eyes. He still didn't know Nash or AJ very well, and didn't want to make a bad impression. Harvey wondered if Bryn was faring any better.

“Yeah,” Nash returned unconvinced.

The swaying of the van as AJ drove to the next house was making Bryn a little queasy. Her head ached and her stomach churned. How many more of these stupid houses were they going to have to look through? She'd be glad to get out of the ridiculous clothes she was wearing. The colors and pattern of the t-shirt wasn't helping her nausea. She wished that Harvey would call an end for the day. She didn't want to do it herself, because she didn't want the guys to think she couldn't handle it.

AJ pulled over to the curb and stopped. He looked through the curtains separating the front from the back. “All clear,” he informed them, and was surprised to see that Bryn actually looked ill. “There’s only one more to go after this one,” he assured them.

Nash watched as Harvey and Bryn got up slowly and made their way out. He covered a smile as he watched Harvey trying to figure out the latch on the door before he finally took pity and opened the door himself. His eyes darted between them with concern. Neither was looking up to snuff. "Hey, are you two going to be okay?"

Sharing a look, Harvey and Bryn waited for the other to say something. Harvey finally shrugged and attempted a smile. "Sure, Nash. We'll be fine, don't worry." The two stepped down unsteadily from the van and watched as AJ pulled away and turned the corner to park across from the house.

They waited ten minutes...or possibly longer. Harvey looked at his watch. He had no idea how long they had been standing there in silence. He smiled. It had been a long time since his last mind-altering experience and he hadn’t recognized the fact that he was zoning out. Come on Harv, he thought. Keep it together. We’ve got to find this guy. After his silent pep talk, he shook his head to clear the cobwebs then took Bryn’s arm. She followed his lead happily as they walked over to the dilapidated house on the corner.

Once inside, Harvey almost groaned out loud. The fumes were worse in this house than the last three combined. He and Bryn parted ways, mingling with the people there, still trying to find out how they could get in touch with Ferguson. Harvey went from room to room…and got more and more sluggish. We've been in here too long. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, it was gone again. He couldn't seem to remember why they were there, then his eyes fell on a familiar face. “Don’t I know you?”

A pair of bleary eyes stared back at him, his oily blond head wobbling like one of those silly toy dogs in a car window. “Possibly,” he returned, unable to see through the haze. “The name’s Gene.”

Bryn looked around at all the happy people. Everyone seemed so friendly and she returned the smiles. A little voice in the back of her mind was trying to warn her about something, but she couldn't figure out what it was saying. Just then, a man with a greasy carton of French fries came into view and Bryn practically fell up against him. “Oh God, those look good,” she stated, then looked up into his eyes with a pleading smile. “Yea,” she said excitedly when he offered her some and she snatched three from the soggy carton.

She closed her eyes in ecstasy as she took her first bite, slowly chewing. She marveled at how wonderful fried potatoes could taste, not noticing that several male admirers were enjoying her delight. “I had no idea that French fries could taste so good.”

When Harvey walked into the room, he tucked the information into his pocket, then noticed that everyone was staring. He followed the direction of their gaze and saw a blond siren leaning in to receive a treat from man who appeared to get a great deal of pleasure from teasing her. Harvey was as transfixed as the others as he watched her tongue dart out, then her teeth nip at the French fry. Her long, graceful throat moving slightly as she laughed. Then it suddenly occurred to him who he was watching. “Bryn?”

She looked up at Harvey and began to giggle at the goofy look on his face. “Harvey! Baby!” she cooed as she draped herself over him. “Damn you look good.”

“You look pretty good yourself,” he returned, grateful that she didn’t catch him gawking at her. “Now say good-bye to the nice man and let’s get out of here.”

“Good-bye nice man,” she said obediently as she turned her bleary eyes back to the man who had shared his fries with her.

“Come on baby,” he pleaded with her as he took her hand. “Don’t go. We haven’t finished my fries yet.”

“Oh yum,” she said, easily persuaded, but Harvey’s arm circled her waist and he propelled her out of the smoky building.

Once he had her outside, Harvey turned to her, placing his hands against her cheeks. “Are you okay Bryn?” he asked with half a smile.

When Bryn began to laugh, his smile grew. In his state, it was contagious, and soon he was laughing along with her. He didn't know what was so funny, but he laughed anyway. He leaned over to whisper in Bryn's ear, stifling his giggles. "Hey. Aren’t we here to look for somebody or something? I forgot."

Trying to catch her breath after the fit of laughter, Bryn leaned against Harvey and smiled. "Yeah, I think we are. Um, a dealer, right?” Her face grew serious and she looked around at the empty sidewalk. “I don't think he's here.” She turned back to Harvey and smiled as she snaked a hand over his shoulder. “Hey, you know…you're kinda cute in a quirky sort of way."

“Oh yeah?” He eyed her curiously, then they both began to laugh. It had been a long time since he had felt this good and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he had gotten a contact buzz. He knew that he had to keep it together, but Bryn wasn’t making it easy. He was willing to bet that she had never experimented in college as he had. "I think maybe we should get going."

"Okay, but you're being a spoilsport. Hey, where'd we park the car?" She looked around, then back at him with sad eyes. “We lost the car?” That seemed to set Bryn off into another set of giggles and Harvey had to practically drag her up the street. He was doing his best to maintain a level head, but it didn’t help matters that she had such an infectious laugh.

The pair stumbled their way down the street to a big, silver van and Harvey knocked on the back door. They stood and waited for a few minutes, but nobody answered the knock. Harvey scratched his head in puzzlement. "Hmm. Nobody's home."

"Maybe they went to get something to eat,” she said, then sucked in a deep breath in envy as tempting visions of chocolate smothered deserts dwelled in her mind. “Oh that looks so good,” she said out loud as she stared off into space. “I am so hungry." Harvey searched her face for a long moment then turned around to follow her gaze. Seeing nothing, he turned back to her and smiled in revelation. “You’re stoned.”

“I am not,” she returned, indignant. She reached up to grab the edge of her jacket to jerk it down sharply in disapproval. When her hands couldn’t fine the edges of her jacket on their own, she looked down. To her amazement, she wasn’t wearing a jacket at all.

That was all it took. Bryn was rolling with laughter at her mistake and she reached out to Harvey to stay on her feet. “I’m not wearing a jacket,” she said, not noticing the confused look on his face. She was having a hard time breathing through the hilarity.

“Oh you are so stoned,” he repeated, then laughed along with her. The two of them fell over laughing again, unaware that they were being watched.

Staring at the monitor in disbelief, Nash and AJ watched as the pair walked down the street, appearing a little unstable on their feet. When they knocked on the wrong van, AJ shook his head and glanced over at Nash. "What the hell are they doing?"

"Beats me, bubba, but I think they might have been in there a little too long." Nash smiled and rubbed a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh. "You want me to go get them?"

Glancing back at the monitor, AJ shook his head. "No. Looks like they finally realized their mistake. They're coming this way." Several long minutes later, the two heard a knock on the side door. Sliding it open they stared at the undercover officers in disbelief.

Bryn gave Harvey a poke in the ribs. "See, I told you so. They just moved."

Rolling his eyes, AJ slid the door shut again. Nash looked back at him in surprise then burst into laughter. "Sure, it's funny to you, Nash, but I've got to fill out the paperwork for this mess."

When the door closed, Harvey turned to look at Bryn in stunned disbelief then they started rolling with laughter, holding onto each other for support. As they stumbled, Harvey lost his balance, tripped over a broken section of the sidewalk and fell, pulling Bryn down on top of him. Neither could stop laughing long enough to get up.

Sighing at the thought of having to explain the ridiculous situation, AJ opened the door. When they saw the pair on the ground, Nash broke out laughing again then they jumped out of the truck to help. Together, they managed to untangle the two of them and get them to their feet. As he was helping Harvey into the truck, Nash shook his head. "I’m really curious to know how you’re going to explain that one to Bonnie, Harv?"

"Bonnie?" Harvey tried to sit down, but missed the stool and hit the floor with a thud.

Trying not to laugh, Nash smiled and helped Harvey up from the floor. "Yeah, Bonnie. Your wife, remember?"

"Oh! That Bonnie!"

"Yeah, bubba, that Bonnie." Nash managed to get Harvey seated and glanced over to see AJ doing the same with Bryn. Turning back, he reached out a hand to catch Harvey as he started to list a little too far to the left. "You gonna be alright, there, bubba?"

Rubbing his head, Harvey sighed. "My head hurts, Nash. I'm hungry, too. Hey, Bryn, are you hungry?" He braced an arm against the table bolted to the side of the van. "Hey, Nash, who's driving this thing?"

Sharing a look with AJ, Nash smiled. "I think maybe I'd better ride back here with these two. I'm thinking maybe the floor might be a better place for them to sit, too."

Laughing, AJ agreed and helped Bryn slide to the floor. Nash did the same with Harvey then reached into the man's jacket to get his weapon. Harvey made an unsteady grab at the gun and frowned. "Hey! That's mine!"

Handing the weapon to AJ, who place it in his pocket along with Bryn's, Nash smiled. "You can have it back after class, Harv. Why don't you try to catch some sleep on the way back to the SIU?"

Both men looked over at the corner, as Bryn began to giggle again. "Hey, Nash, tell AJ to go through the drive through. I want some more fries."

"Uh, okay. I'll be sure to tell him that, Bryn." Smothering his own laughter, Nash felt a hand on his arm. He turned to see Harvey's bloodshot eyes staring back at him.

Pulling Nash closer, Harvey leaned over to whisper in his boss' ear. "Nash, she's stoned."

"Noooo. I hadn't noticed, bubba."

Nodding seriously, Harvey smiled. "Yeah, man; she is. Hey, Nash…I think maybe I'm a little stoned, too."

"Yeah, bubba, I think maybe you are at that." Nash sobered when a strange look passed over Harvey's face.

Shaking his head, desperately trying to clear his thoughts of the haze that enveloped him, Harvey frowned. "Nash, you're not going write us up for this are you? It's not Bryn's fault, I should've called a halt hours ago."

Puzzled at Harvey's apparent insecurity, Nash shook his head. "Harvey, it happens. Unless you could hold your breath for ten minutes, I don't think there was a way for you to search those houses and not get a good buzz going."

Harvey sighed, relaxing again as he closed his eyes. An understanding boss. Will the blessings of this job ever cease? he thought, then sat bolt upright. “I almost forgot.” Digging around in his pocket, he came up with a slip of paper and handed it to Nash. “Ferguson’s phone number,” he said in triumph. “He’s expecting your call, but we may have a problem.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nash walked into the small alcove that they had chosen to be their conference room of sorts and held his hands wide. “There’s no way AJ can get out of his meeting with the police commissioner,” he explained. He had left the team waiting for half an hour as AJ tried to beg off, but that gave Harvey and Bryn the chance to shake off the effects of the marijuana. When he saw the empty cartons of Chinese food scattered all over the pock marked table, he looked over at Bryn suspiciously. “I know that wasn’t my sweet and sour shrimp, was it?”

Bryn looked up and gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry Nash.”

Nash looked around at all of the empty boxes and papers littering the room. Between Harvey and Bryn, they had eaten all of the burgers and tacos as well his Chinese. He sighed, then waved it off. He couldn’t blame them for having the munchies after running in and out of so many smoke houses. “Forget it. I’ll get something later.” His mind was already on meeting Ferguson. “Harv? You said there was a problem with Ferguson?” he prompted him.

Harvey ran his hand over his face as he tried to focus on the conversation he had in the smoke house. “He said something about having a meet with a buyer tonight.” He shook his head when the details weren’t coming. “He made it sound like, if we could match the price and the time, that he might deal with us.” He thought about that for a long moment. “To tell you the truth man, I’m not sure if I imagined this or not, but I got the impression that he didn’t trust the guy he was dealing with.”

“Makes sense,” Nash returned. “He’s got us as backup in case the first deal falls through. Did he say how much?”

“Five million. Cash.”

Bryn groaned. “There’s no way.”

“Five million?” Nash repeated.

Harvey nodded. He knew why that figure was bothering Nash. “I figure either the guy has no clue what he’s doing or he’s splitting up the chips.”

“Judging from his reputation, I’d say the former.” Nash ran a scenario through his head, disposed of it, then moved onto the next. “Did you tell them who your buyer was?”

He nodded again. “He’s expecting Teddy Malone.”

“Good,” he returned absently, his mind already planning ahead.

“What’s the point, Nash?” Bryn asked. “You know that the city is never going to let go of five million dollars for this scheme,” she stressed. “We’re sunk before we even get started.”

He waved that off as a moot point. “We’ll work around that. My main concern is the other buyer.” He had a feeling he was going to have to think fast on his feet on this one. He looked up at Harvey once more. “I’m going to need a computer expert in there to check the chips.” When Harvey started to straighten, Nash gestured for him to stop before he even began. “Relax, bubba. You’ve gone above and beyond today. I’ll take Evan with me, but I want you to make sure that he knows what he’s doing.”

“Got it,” Harvey returned. That's going to be fun, he thought.

"Okay, so you call Ferguson up and set up the buy with Teddy Malone,” Bryn interrupted. “Great. But, where are you going to get the money?" She couldn't see how in the world Nash was going to find a way out of that one. "We're talking about $5 million dollars, here. We have less than 8 thousand in cash available to us."

"Who says you have to have the whole $5 million?"

All three turned to stare at the newcomer and Evan shuffled nervously when he suddenly had their attention. "What? All you have to do is use the cash on hand and pad it with pieces of newspaper.”

Laughing, Nash shook his head. "Well, bubba, you've got a point. Congratulations, you've solved my problem." Waving at Evan to sit down, Nash started to pace. "Okay, so we have the money and we have Ferguson's number to set up the buy. Harvey, how long do you think it'll take you to teach Evan how to run those tests on the chips?"

Looking at Evan, Harvey shrugged. "Not long. It'll take me a couple of hours to get the equipment you're going to need, though. I need to make a few phone calls."

"Do what you need to do, bubba. Bryn, you and I will get started on the money. Man, I wish Eve wasn't still working on that Narco case,” he added softly as he thought out loud. “Alright, let's get to it. Teddy Malone needs to make a phone call."

Smiling, Nash watched as the others filed out of the room. This was it. This was the case that was going to set the standard for the SIU, and make people sit up and take notice. Flipping his cell phone open, Nash dialed the number Harvey had given him. "Eugene Ferguson? I hear you're in the market to sell a few chips."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting until Nash got off the phone, Harvey sat on the edge of the desk and frowned. "Boss, we may have a problem."

"Evan can’t figure out how to run those tests?" That would be a big problem, if that were the case.

"No, Evan's got everything down to the letter. He's pretty smart when he listens. No, I was getting some coffee and overheard Bettina. Looks like he may have found Ferguson, too. It's going to be a close race to see who gets him first."

"How in the world did that nimrod catch up?" Nash didn't believe anything other than blind luck could be the reason for Bettina's progress.

"I don't know, Nash. Just thought I'd give you a heads-up. Oh, by the way, I don't think Bryn's doing to well. She nearly knocked me over running to the restroom a few minutes ago." Giving Nash a sympathetic shrug, Harvey went back to his own desk, to make a few phone calls. The equipment they needed had yet to arrive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Glancing at his watch for the hundredth time, Nash paced impatiently. It was time. Already, things weren't going as planned. They had the padded money in a briefcase, Evan was raring to go…but Bryn was home sick and Harvey hadn't gotten back yet from where ever it was that he'd gone.

"I got it, Nash!"

"Harvey, where the hell have you been?" Nash looked at Harvey with a mixture of relief and anger. "If we don't get moving, we're going to be late. We're supposed to meet Ferguson on top of the Fowler builder at 10 o'clock."

"Sorry, Nash, but I had to replace some of the equipment. I had to rattle a few cages to get the new stuff. Here, Evan." Harvey thrust the new equipment at Evan and ran back to his desk to grab his police jacket. With AJ still tied up in his meeting, Nash needed him as backup after all.

"All right, if we have everything, let's get out of here."

Sitting beside Nash in the 'Cuda, Evan could hardly contain his nervous energy. He had waited for this moment for a long time. He glanced at Nash and realized how lucky he was to have been given such an opportunity. After what little time he had spent on this case with the others, he already knew he was working with the best. Now, if he could just talk his new partner into helping him rebuild that stupid hard drive.

Pulling up to the Fowler building and parking the 'Cuda, Nash smiled his young partner. "You ready for this, Evan?"

"Yes, sir, I am. More than ready." Evan had been ready for this for a long time. As he got out of the 'Cuda, he looked up toward the roof and stopped in shock. "Uh, Nash? Is it just my imagination, or is there someone hanging by a rope up there?"

Nash looked up quickly, then shook his head. “That’s got to be Bettina.”