“What exactly are you trying to pull?” Williams was enraged, towering the light woman, “you do recognize her, don’t you, Officer Kennard?”

“What you’re doing to that poor woman is wrong.” Tina ignored her question.

“You know her.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Obstructing federal investigation is a serious felony,” Tasha warned her, voice deepening and face stiffening. “you clearly know her.”

Suddenly another blonde barged in on the two staring at each other. It was Alice, startled to find the intruders in her own quarter. “What the hell is going on?”

“You will go to your Lieutenant and you will testify.” Tasha pressed even closer to the unwavering woman with daunting hazel eyes. “Do. You. Understand?” Her hold on the lithe arm got even tighter.

“Hey! Hey you!” Alice leaped over and squeezed herself in between them, facing the stranger, “she’s really tiny and you’re hurting her, so back off, whoever the fuck you are.”

“It’s ok, Alice.” Tina held her friend’s shoulder, stopping her from biting the woman’s head off.

Tasha took a step backward, finding herself unreasonably intimidated by this woman named Alice. She almost admired the fierce sparkles in those light brown eyes. In embarrassment and shame, she darted her attention from Alice to Tina again, and threatened, “This isn’t over.”

As the agent turned to leave, Tina followed. She needed to go back and keep an eye on the interrogation.

Alice yelled behind her, “Who the hell was that? Why are you leaving with her?”

“That was FBI agent Tasha Williams.” Tina uttered unimpressed.

“Well ain’t she a piece of work.” Alice thought out loud, her eyes lingering a bit longer than necessary on the agent’s ass.

By the time they returned, the investigation had to come to halt as the Lieutenant insisted. Kroll had thought about the young officer’s protest and advised the FBI agents to take another strategy. But they weren’t going anywhere with the suspect insisting her original story of being caught.

“I’m only a maid. I go to work three days a week and I happened to be at the scene.” Bette had said.

“There was a fire. I found the gun in the rubbles so I picked it up just in case. It was empty.” She said.