The Stakeout

The patrol car was a small universe. In the dark, parked between two dumpsters in the warehouse district, the intimacy was suffocating.

It had been four hours. The rain was relentless, drumming on the roof.

Zoe had gone through three juice boxes. Ryan was staring out the window, his profile illuminated by the occasional passing headlight.

"Why do you hate me?" Zoe asked.

She knew why the book character hated her. But she needed Ryan to tell *her*.

Ryan didn't turn. "I don't hate you, Chen. I hate what you represent."

"And what's that?"

"Privilege without purpose," Ryan said. He turned to look at her then. "You took this job because your dad is the Chief. You coast. You take long lunches. You look the other way when the envelopes get passed around the precinct."

Zoe flinched. The envelopes. The bribes.

"I'm not her anymore," Zoe said. It was the truest thing she had ever said. "I woke up a few days ago, and I looked in the mirror, and I didn't like what I saw. I want to be good, Ryan. I want to help."

Ryan studied her. The shadows softened the sharp angles of his face.

"Why?"

"Because the world is scary enough," Zoe whispered. "Someone has to be the light."

Ryan let out a breath—a heavy, weary sound. He reached for the thermos of coffee he had brought. He poured a cup into the plastic lid and handed it to her.

"It’s not juice," he said. "But it's warm."

Zoe took the cup. Their fingers brushed. Sparks, literal electric sparks of static, zipped between them.

Ryan pulled his hand back, looking startled.

"Thanks," Zoe said, taking a sip. It was terrible, bitter sludge. She smiled. "Best coffee I've ever had."

Ryan watched her drink it. The corner of his mouth twitched upward. It wasn't a smile, not quite. But it was the threat of one.

"You're exhausting, Chen," he murmured. But there was no venom in it.

"Look!" Zoe pointed out the window.

A figure in a black hoodie was moving toward the wall of the Abandoned Cannery. He had a spray can in his hand.

"The Fox," Ryan whispered. "Let's go."

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