Paper in a File {Brollins}

- Chapter 40 -

Paperwork might've been Colby's least favourite part of his job, but it was always a necessity. He'd been spending his time in the precinct with the group, along with Rebecca and Chase getting warrants, looking through files, and trying to find any excuse he could to lock Riki up.

"Colby, I hate to break it to you, but you know he's somehow kept his hands clean." Mercedes sighed as she sat down in her seat by the desk beside him.

Colby shook his head, barely looking up. "You don't know that for sure."

She rolled her eyes in response, and Pamela shook her head at her friend, not wanting to set Colby off, yet Mercedes pressed on. "C'mon, you're telling me he's run bigger plans and riskier deals, but this is the one he slipped up on?"

"You never know." Colby looked up, and Rebecca, who was sitting beside him, rested a hand on his knee. "All it takes is one fingerprint, a flake of dandruff, or even a hair follicle, and his whole world could come crashing down."

"What about his accomplices?" Pamela positioned herself at Mercedes' table just on the other side. "Have we tried to crack down on any of them recently?"

"You know we have." Jonathan came out of a nearby investigation room and opted to lean against his table instead of sitting. "It's like they signed the deal with the Devil or the Illuminati or something. They never make a peep. Even the ones we've locked away on other charges."

"They went completely... willingly." Pamela shivered slightly, the thought leaving her feeling unsettled.

Mercedes shook her head. "Who knows? The cops are probably on his side too."

"For sure." Pamela nodded, "I mean... you don't get bruises on your stomach when falling on your back."

Jonathan gestured his head to Colby. "Or broken ribs, for that matter."

Joseph's eyebrow raised, "Are you implying the cops attacked him after?"

"I don't remember." Colby admitted, "Could've been them or Riki's gang. All I know is he got away, and I missed my opportunity."

He ran his hand over his beard, leaning back against his chair's backrest. "There has to be a crack, a sliver even, of evidence."

Joseph sat in Jonathan's desk chair, handing him a folder with photos. "We've been back to the scene countless times."

"The only things we found were gunpowder residue and your blood." Mercedes nodded, "Sure, it indicates you were shot but not by who."

"We have the bullet! From the hospital." Pamela suddenly sat up in slight excitement. "We can track down the gun it belongs to... get the identification number and the ID of whoever registered it and bring 'em in."

"You have the bullet?" The expression Mercedes previously had went stoic as she stared at Pamela.

Pamela's swallow was slow and almost hesitant. "Yes..."

"Where? How?" Joseph crossed his arms, "I looked in the evidence storage, and they said nothing came in."

Mercedes squinted at her, "I don't know whether to hug you or jab you right now."

"You're a genius, Pam!" Rebecca spoke up for the first time in a while and stared at her wide eyes as she came to a sudden realization, getting confused looks from the others. "Think about it. If she had given it to be put on record, you guys would've been waiting at least two weeks before you got clearance to take it back out for our own case uses. Plus, you'd need approval from Vince, and that's a whole other story."

When she was met with silence, Rebecca sunk back in her chair. "Right? Unless I don't know how these things work anymore..."

"No, no. You're right." Colby assured her, "Just... how?"

She tilted her head slightly, "How?"

"How do you know that?" Colby clarified his question, and she smiled, seemingly excited to give him a reply until Jonathan interjected.

"Must be movies." He nodded confidently, "Damn, some of those have gotten accurate."

Mercedes mulled over the idea, almost silently agreeing but not daring to verbalize it, especially when it came to Jonathan. "I wonder how."

"You think these interns are Hollywood moles or something?" Jonathan looked at them suspiciously before yelling across the room. "Hey, blondie! Are you method-acting right now?"

"Focus, please." Joseph groaned, seeing Pamela nod and pull out the bullet in an air-sealed bag from her desk drawer. "Good goin, Martinez."

"One slight problem, though." Mercedes examined the bullet with dried blood encompassing it. "We can't prove Riki was there or had drugs on him, for that matter, and I doubt he registered a gun in his own name."

"Okay, baby steps. We now have a lead, at least." Colby pointed out, trying to avoid looking at the bullet as the thought of it practically made his gunshot wound throb.

While they continued to go over details and ideas, an intern came around, handing out some mail to the group, and Colby received a letter. He tried to fumble with it to get it open, but Rebecca chuckled quietly and gently took it from his hand.

She smiled at him while she opened it for him. "See what you can accomplish with a little help?"

"I know, I know." He nodded, "But don't pretend you don't like to see me struggle."

"Me? Never." Rebecca's grin was brighter than he'd seen it a few days ago, and he knew he couldn't take all the credit. Being at the precinct, she was starting to seem more at home than ever, and it didn't take a genius to see that the group brought out the best in her.

Colby redirected his attention from Rebecca to his mail. He looked at the paper within the envelope, and a smirk grew on his face when he saw it was the approval for his warrant request. "Just because we can't arrest him right this second doesn't mean we can't bring him in for questioning."