The Soldier and The Spy: Tess Danvers- Episode 3

Chapter 1

Present Day

"Signora forte!"

Tess grinned and reached over the counter to bump her fist against Tony's, his preferred method of greeting when the shop was too busy to give bear hugs. The man was in his eighties, and still built like an ox, and ran what was in her opinion the best butcher shop in Chicago's Little Italy. He also never failed to put a smile on her face. His nickname for her, 'strong lady', came from when he witnessed her kick a mugger's ass a few years back when the man mistook her for an easy target, and ever since he'd taken a special shine to her.

"What do you want?"

"Some prosciutto, a few chorizo sausages and two ribeye please."

He also loved that she spoke Italian.

She stepped back to let the next customer order as Tony went to get her items, quickly pulling out her phone when she felt it buzzing against her thigh and smiling as Jay's face lit up her screen. He hated the photo she'd chosen, 'I'm not even smiling' he'd complained, but she loved it; she'd snapped it just last week while he was making his morning coffee. And hadn't yet put on a shirt. In her eyes it showed Jay exactly how he was- tall, brooding, and handsome, a compliment she knew he enjoyed even if he outwardly grumbled about it.

"Hey there Ranger."

"Hey. You out?"

"Yeah, I'm at the butchers. How little do you think I eat?" She said to Tony when she saw him holding up a small portion of prosciutto, who laughed loudly before cutting more. "Why, what's up?"

"We need your help."

Instantly she went on alert, a little more than was necessary but given their lines of work she told herself it was understandable. Advisable really. "You got it. I'll be there in... twenty-ish minutes."

"See you when you get here. Remember, you can use the front door this time."

"Funny." Tess could practically hear his smile through the phone and knew she was matching it as she hung up, just in time to see Tony sliding three packages across the counter.

"Duty calls?"

"Always."

She gave him a hundred-dollar bill and another fist bump, another reason he liked her so much was that she always left a healthy tip, then hurried back to her car. "Cas? I need you to look something up for me."

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She was starting to feel sick. It wasn't as though she was a stranger to crimes like these, she'd seen children hurt before, seen them trafficked the way they were being now, seen them killed while they played on the street, casualties of a war they weren't a part of or because they'd been forced to join one, to make choices no child should ever have to. And every time it made her blood boil and her stomach churn but if Tess was honest that wasn't the only reason she felt ill.

If she was honest, it wasn't even the main reason.

No, the narrowed gaze of Trudy Platt as she walked into the 21st Precinct was the cause of that. Well, not the cause. A symptom maybe. Truthfully she found the woman hilarious, she'd been at Molly's last weekend and her witty one liners combined with their dry delivery had had Tess's mouth sore from grinning but a wary friendliness outside of work did not translate to trust on the job. That had to be earned. And Tess didn't doubt she could get it, from the formidable Desk Sergeant or from the rest of Jay's teambut whether she wanted it...