From a car that wasn't his BMW. nor was it his 'partner's' flashy Nissan, Daniel's eyes were fixated on the residence across the street. It was a small, simple house, framed by a rusty old fence, yellowish paint curling off the woodwork here and there, much like all the other houses lining this block. The only difference it held was, that inside this particular house was a suspect going by the name of Eduardo 'Eddie' Alvarez. Though he was considered a low life drug dealer, on one of the lowest rung of the ladder, he was alleged to have vital ties that would lead them to something bigger, someone higher up said ladder and eventually, hopefully, or at least to the FBI, it would lead up to a trail to the one person the Federal bureau was really after, the big man himself: Carter Verone.

With a sigh that could only be described as a bored one, he rubbed a hand over his eyes. They'd been watching this place for a while now and so far there hadn't been much movement, not enough to go inside without a warrant anyway, and it was tiring Daniel to no end. He couldn't stand the company he was forced to reside with on this stake-out gig, even with the conversation being kept to a minimum so far. Ever since day one, they had rubbed each other the wrong way and irony had it when they were assigned to work on Verone's case together.

He turned his attention to the man in question: Brian O'Conner, the partner he could do without, as another bored sigh escaped from him. Stake-outs was something he hated, especially if it was with someone looking over his shoulder, watching his every move. Someone that was not on his good side.

"How long are we supposed to sit here, hm? Shit, that fucking guy could take his sweet time coming out of that house while we sit here and waste perfectly good time, doing absolutely nothing constructive."

Spitting the tasteless chewing out of the window just to pop a new one in a second later Brian was lost in thoughts. In his mind he was with Mia and Tyler. The little guy had put on quite a few pounds since his birth, attempted his first unconscious smiles and become the joy of their days. Unfortunately this joy was always jaded by the thread of Carter Verone striking against Brian's family. Whenever there was a moment filled with joy around the house Brian had to think about it. So when the chance came along to maybe find some dirt on Carter Brian was happy to be assigned to the case. The company however wasn't making him happy. He couldn't stand his new partner because of his attitude. Daniel always seemed to think of himself as something better, cooler, wiser and didn't make big efforts to hide it. However Brian figured that if worse came to worst he'd be a guy to count on, somebody who would get his hands dirty and have your back.
Without looking at him he mumbled. "That's just what it is, man. It's a stake-out. That's what you do...if you're lucky you get to snap a photo."
His head rolled to the side so he could give him a tired smile. The red line that the wrench had left on his forehead still clearly visible. What he didn't know was that Daniel had actually taken his brother under his wings that morning.

And there it was again, the type of answer to a rhetorical question that grated on his nerves and Daniel couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes. Of course he knew stake-outs were nothing but time consuming bores, often resulting in almost nothing, but that was where the difference usually lied in his assignments back in Brooklyn. He didn't wait around for someone to leave his den, didn't need the weight of a warrant in his pocket when he simply busted open doors to retrieve whatever he was after, but that was then and this was now. Play by the book, a world of difference he wasn't looking to learn, but had no choice in doing so in the presence of his prying partner.

"How's the head? I'm guessing little Jackie isn't going to win the 'brother of the year' award this time, is he?" A smirk had formed on his face under the sudden change of subject, his eyebrows lifting in silent question, betraying his undeniable amusement even more. His timing had been impeccable that morning, even if he hadn't known it at the time and it was purely by luck, the younger O'Conner had potential for what Daniel had in mind. Even if the kid didn't live up to it, well, it wasn't any skin of his back if something went wrong and the youngster caught a fatal bullet. Entirely by accident of course.

Count on Daniel to make an unpleasant activity even worse. At first Brian thought the question was his partner trying to be polite but he couldn't help but notice the hint of amusement in his expression.
"The head's fine. Jack would never win an award like that." Brian frowned at his own words. Partly they were true. His brother was the most unreliable and lazy guy he knew. Things were different in extreme situations though. Brian could count on him one hundred percent and would trust him with his life.
Even his family relations were none of his partners business he was wondering what exactly he was referring to. "Why? How do you know?"

"How do I know? Are we even on the same page here?" Daniel made a sound that enforced his utter disbelieve while he turned his attention back on the house. Had he known today was going to be about stupid answers and stupid questions, he wouldn't have bothered making some conversation in an effort to kill time. The only thing that he did get out of the fruitless attempt though, was that small frown that had settled on O'Conner's face the moment he had mentioned the man's brother.

"Doesn't that make you mad, though? I hate to break it to you, but the kid looked like a loose cannon to me." His voice was calm and without any hint of amusement this time, his expression matching it. He wasn't out to provoke his partner, at least not entirely. Right now, he was simply trying to gauge his partner's reaction on the subject, see how much the brotherly bound between the O'Conner's had been damaged that morning. Either way, under Daniel's watch, the younger one would become persona non grata soon enough though.

Leon had pointed out that Jack was at the garage that morning but he'd said that Brian had been beating the shit out of him so the conclusion was that Jack had reacted in self defense...using a wrench out of all the things.
The whole ordeal had left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth but since Brian had no recollection of what really happened he wasn't about to tear his brother a new one because of accusations and assumptions.
Then again a glimpse in the rear view mirror at the bruise that had travelled down from his forehead and formed a nice shiner around pretty hard feelings against the younger sibling.
"Damn right, it makes me mad."

The look out the window showed nothing new around the house.
"I'll have a word with him sooner or later." The agent cracked his knuckles indicating his intentions.
"The problem is I have no idea what really happened. Anybody could tell me a story and I wouldn't have a clue whether it's true or not."

A moment later he added. "Do you have any brothers?"

"Younger sister." Daniel answered simple and brisk, his eyes never leaving the house across the street. How long had he been sitting here with that tedious partner of his, doing absolutely nothing but wait for their suspect to come out of that house so they could scoop him up. It could take forever, if the guy was even in this house.

Rubbing a hand over his face, a decision was soon made, uncaring whether O'Conner would agree with it or not. This wasn't going to be done by procedure and technically it was against the law without a warrant, but as far as he was concerned, sitting on their asses, making small talk, was over.

His hand took the 9mm from it's holster and soon the slide was pulled back in one simple move, cocking it, while he granted blondie a quick sideways look. "Get your ass in to gear. We're gonna bust some balls in there."

Leaving no time or space for a response of any kind, he was already stepping out of the inconspicuous car. With the 9mm held low and out of sight for the time being, his free hand tapped the vehicle's roof when his partner took too long to react for his taste. They, no, he didn't have all damn day to do this.

"Let's go, O'Conner. Time to make a difference"

Irritated Brian observed Daniel cock his gun and wondered what the hell had gotten into him after sitting on their asses for almost three hours.
His hand reached into the glove compartment where he had stored his gun and amunition.
The banging on the roof annoyed him so he got out and furrowed his brow. "What are you doing, Shaw? We have no warrant."
Nevertheless he shoved a round of bulletts in the chamber and hid the 9 mm in the belt on his back.
"Whatever you're going to get is not gonna stick."

Daniel turned around, facing his partner with disdain clearly evident in his eyes while his brow rose in question. He should have known O'Conner was a coward, hiding his sorry ass behind rules and regulations. "You want to wait on a piece of paper? Give this guy time to clean everything out, because you want to do this by the rules? Man, fuck the rules. These are the streets. Act like it, O'Conner."

Thumbing the safety off, he could care less whether his partner decided to come along for the ride or not. He had done this a million times before, this was his game, what he was good at and it showed in his confident stride toward the house, his gun held low by his side as he took the last few steps up to the door. Without hesitation, he knocked on the wood, his stance and hold on the 9mm changing, preparing for what was about to come. This was the most important moment of all, the element of surprise that could so easily be fucked up.

The door barely opened an inch before he reacted, kicking the door open completely, a string of Spanish curses meeting his ears like music when wood connected with bone, the Hispanic's bloodied nose clearly broken as the man stumbled backward by the force. Not a second was wasted as Daniel granted himself access to the house, the muzzle of his 9mm firmly pressed against their suspect's cheek when he shoved him against the wall.

"You home alone, you piece of shit? And make sure your answer is the correct one!"

Daniel had a good point. But that's what made the difference. Actually playing by the rules. What good was a suspect that they couldn't lock up because they searched a place without a warrant.
Before he could contradict or explain anything Daniel was crossing the street.
If he was going to come along Brian wanted to at least grab a vest from the trunk but b that time Daniel would be in the house alone.
"Shit." Brian cursed and followed him across the street.
A few kids on skateboards eyed them nosily.
"Go, go!" Brian shoed them away but they stayed just were they were and looked even more curious.
Just when his partner knocked back the door he caught up with him.
Well aware that Daniel was putting them both into a damn dangerous situation he had to react quickly. Follow him and back him up or stay outside and think about his own safety.
"Fuck." He muttered but followed him inside nevertheless with his 9mm at aim.
having his back to the wall and checking every possible direction and room was routine but adrenalin was still pumping through his veins.
Suddenly he came eye to eye with an elderly foreign looking man, who shouted at him in Spanish. Brian grabbed him by the shirt and shoved him against the wall.
"Shut up. Shut up. We're not here for you!"
His eyes darted around for the a guy in his mid thirties. the one they were actually after.

As the man vigorously shook his head, babbling something in Spanish, Daniel gritted his teeth, the cold of the steel digging deeper in to flesh matching the tone of his voice. "Do I look like I speak Spanish to you? English, motherfucker!"

Before any other word could be uttered, be it English or Spanish, he grabbed a fist full of the man's shirt once more and pulled him away from the wall, a rough shove following toward the living room where he found O'Conner manhandling an old man. Neither of these guys was the perp they were looking for. No Eddie Alvarez. Shit.

Just as Daniel pushed the man down to sit on the couch, scurrying sounds in the back of the house could be heard, a door being opened in a hurry soon after. So Eddie Alvarez was in the house. A quick finger was pointed at his partner while Daniel already turned. "You watch these two!"

With his gun held by two hands, his guard up for any sudden possible attack, he hurried in to the kitchen and through it to get to the still open back door. His eyes landed on the retreating back of his target immediately when he looked out and for a moment, he was tempted to just shoot the perp point blank, but he had nagging feeling that such a coarse action wouldn't sit well with his pain in the ass do-right new partner. Great.

A string of curses left his mouth as he flicked the safety on, shoved the gun in his belt before he gave chase instead, and for a moment, there were no other sounds but two pairs of hasty, fast footfalls on pavement, one steadily closing in on the other. The guy was fast, but the FBI agent was faster and as the man made an attempt seconds later to climb over a high iron fence, blocking his only path, it gave Daniel just enough time to catch up completely. With both hands, he pulled his target down, the body falling back hard against the pavement while Daniel loomed over the man with his gun drawn, a satisfied smirk gracing his features.

"Don't you know running from the cops, and especially me! is a criminal offense, Mr Alvarez? Now get the fuck up! You and I need to chat." He growled while he leaned down and fisted a hand in Alvarez's collar, dragging him back up to his feet before he pushed him back toward the house under stern gun point. Now he could only hope O'Conner was holding his ground inside as well.

To his surprise Daniel dashed out the back door leaving him alone with two guy, who didn't speak one lick of English but possibly were part of a huge syndicate. 'Awesome' he thought while he kept his guy aimed at both of their heads. The fear in the older man's eyes let him know that he wasn#t a big thread but the other one kept cursing at him in Spanish. Brian didn't need to speek the language to understand that.
"Shut up." He yelled and got the barrell of his gun a little closer to his head. Just close enough so the man couldn't reach for it.
Briefly his gaze wandered to the bck door. No sign of Daniel or anybody else.

The younger fellow on the couch apparently saw that as a good opportunity to make an escape. So Brian had no other choice than to lower his gun, grab him by his shirt and tackle him. In a quick move he threw him on the ground pinning his arms down with his own knees while he sat on his back. The cold steel of his gun in his neck let the guy know that he'd gone too far. "You wanna go to jail?"
Right then Daniel came back with a guy in tow. Alvarez. Brian had only seen the mug shot once but it was clear. This ugly bastard was Alvarez.
"Good job!"

Alvarez was roughly pushed in to an empty chair, the 9mm trained back on the tanned man's head in an instant as Daniel only granted O'Conner a simple, yet disdain filled look while the enthusiastic 'good job' coming from the blonde drew a snort from him. This wasn't kindergarten, he wasn't looking for no damned pat on the shoulder, compliment, or whatever it was supposed to be. He simply did his job unlike his partner by the looks, not to mention the sounds, of it. The constant Spanish bickering from the Hispanic man underneath the blonde grated on his nerves like nothing else. It was obvious blondie wasn't very intimidating.

With a quick aim and tug on the trigger, a bullet entered the wooden floor close by the nuisance's head. "Shut the fuck up!" Daniel snapped, leaving no room for any doubt that he wasn't fucking around. He called the shots quite literally if needed, and with a sneer, he turned both his attention as well as the muzzle of his gun back on the man in the chair. The low life Alvarez.

"You. Start talking." He demanded, rolling his eyes soon after the words had left his mouth when all that met his ears was more Spanish blabbering. People these days really were hard learners.

Two more shots were fired in quick succession. This time the, far too big for this neighborhood, flatscreen tv and a stereo biting the dust before Daniel's hand grabbed Alvarez by the throat, squeezing hard enough to draw wheezes while the muzzle pressed against the man's cheek, a slight sizzle coming from the skin as the hot steel burned a mark in to the flesh.

"Hablo inglés, now, bitch? And I advise you, don't play dumb with me a second time!"

The bullett that flew by his head and hit the floorboard next to the guy he was pinning down made Brian jump. He had expected Daniel to be a hard ass but breaking in and shooting around like some Western gun slinger wasn't exactly what he thought would happen.
He shot his partner an angry glare. This wasn't his style and he wasn't about to get shot but some gangster or even better- his own partner over some stupid investigation.
Nevertheless he kept quiet.
All he did was twist the guy's arm up so far his back he could almost feel the shoulder pop out and force him to stand up with his face to the wall.

Alvarez was just as little happy about Daniel's behaviour as Brian. for completely other reasons though. The man's hand on his throat cut of his blood curculation as well as his air pipe. a few more seconds and he'd pass out. His pleas came out as more of a wheezing sound than anything else. "I tell you...I talk." What he would tell was a whole different story as long as the starnger would let him live...for now.

"That's what I thought." A deceivingly friendly smile washed over Daniel's features when his grip loosened from around the man's throat, yet his eyes remained like those of a predator watching it's prey, taunting it to make the wrong move. If he was messed with, lied to, he'd make sure that little round burn mark on Alvarez's flesh wouldn't be the only physical damage done. He had already shown he did not play by any books but his own, even with a new, and most importantly, annoyingly straight-laced partner on his back.

The safety was thumbed back on before the 9mm disappeared in the waistband of his pants and cuffs were grabbed instead while he walked around the seated man, not taking long before he had Alvarez cuffed securely to the chair. There was no need for a chance at repeat of the short lived chase and aside from that, 'talking' went easier if he had his hands free to do whatever was necessary.

He pulled another chair up in front of the man, sat down on it with a hint of smugness in his smile while he leaned slightly forward. "I don't think I have to tell you you don't want to be wasting my partner's and my time here. So let's cut straight to business, hmm?" He looked briefly at O'Conner as the blonde kept the second man restrained against the wall before his attention turned back on Alvarez. "Now I know you're on the bottom of this fine ladder which means you gotta be getting your shit from someone else. Who?"

Brian kept a firm grip on his prisoner but turned his head to see what would happen now. It was unlikely that Alvarze would actually give up his supplier.

The smirk that formed on the Mexican's face despite his delicate situation was slightly irritating."You joking, gringo? He kill me if I tell." Was his answer in broken English.
"You cop, you not kill me. I not tell his name."

It would be interesting to see how far his new partner would go to get a name. Brian had pulled one or the other illegal action to get information but he hadn't killed anyone.
He refrained from calling Daniels name but nodded to him.
"I'll bring this guy to the car."
It more or less meant: I don't want to be here when you do whatever you do plus I don't need to know about it.

When Alvarez noticed Brian was really leaving he became nervous. One cop leaving the other on purpose was never a good sign.

Daniel briefly raised a hand to acknowledge O'Conner's departure from the scene. His partner's choice to leave was more than convenient. It not only gave him a free hand to do as he pleased, but it gave him free speech all at the same time. There was no more reason to keep up the facade now that O'Conner was out of the way.

"So you won't give me a name because you think my badge keeps me from shooting you point blank right here and now." He watched the misplaced smugness on Alvarez's face grow for a moment longer before he stood up. "See, the truth between you and me is, I don't even want no names, no information. But what I do want is for you to keep your mouth shut."

The confusion that washed over Alvarez's face was almost comical. The man had no idea how to respond now, or even what to expect. Had this cop gone loco? "Than why you doing this? What'd you want?"

The smile on Daniel's face widened in to something much more foreboding as he walked around the cuffed Mexican once again. This lowlife had become a liability, a weak spot that could lead to consequences Daniel wasn't willing to undergo. He was paid generously to make sure nothing shady would lead on to the path of Verone's name after all. Twisting a silencer on the muzzle of an unregistered 9mm as soon as he was out of the man's sight, he was aware of the irony of using a one now, considering he'd already fired three shots without it only minutes ago, but he didn't want to ignite any questions from O'Conner outside.

"I told you what I want. I want you to keep your mouth shut and I'm here to make sure there are no loose ends, comprende?." Without further hesitation or even waiting for the true meaning of his words to sink in, he put the muzzle against the back of the man's skull and pulled the trigger. To him it meant nothing. Just another job that needed to be done.

Seconds later, he left the house and joined back up with O'Conner at their stake-out car, his face nor his posture giving anything away of the previous events.

"He knows nothing. Let's go."

Brian had put the arrested man in the back seat and slumped down in the driver seat.
"Really? Don't you want to take him in for questioning?"
He had fully expected his partner to come back with a confession and Alvarez in cuffs. That's why he had left in the first place ...so Daniel could make him talk in his very own ways.

The frown on his face grew deeper when he looked in the rear view mirror.
"So what are we doing with our friend back there then?"
He hated the fact that they had just wasted hours for nothing and they were not one bit closer to capturing Verone.

"And waste more time? It's a dead end. They happen." Was Daniel's short and brisk reply while he slid on a pair of sunglasses. His job here was done and as long as O'Conner wasn't going to get noisy, things would clean themselves up. He'd have someone dispose of the body and Alvarez would just become another disappearance, a run-away from the law maybe.

Behind the dark glasses, his eyes shot up to the rear view mirror. The lowlife on the back seat could of course pose a problem to this and letting him walk now was not an option.

"Let him spend the night in jail. We can hold him for 24 hours without charges." Turning his shielded gaze on his partner, he allowed a sarcastic smirk to wash over his features. "Maybe he knows something, hmm?" The smirk disappeared as fast as it appeared, his surly expression returning in an instant. "Just drive, O'Conner."

His eyes quickly scanned the guy in the back seat. Could they really hold him.
"I don't like this. Why hold him? He doesn't know anything."
With a shrugged he pulled onto the road and drove towards the FBI building.
The whole way he thought about what had happened. Brian didn't always go by the rulebook or hestitate to pull his gun but Daniel defiently took it two steps further and he didn't like it nor did he like the fact that they were partners.
"So another dead end..." his eyes moved to the mirror again.
"Why don't you tell us who runs your little business back at that house? If you do, I'll let you get out right here."
A red light forced them to stop.
Brian turned around.
"I don't even have your name yet...nodbody will ever know where we got the info from."

The man's eyes briefly met his and O'Conner could tell he hit a nerve.
"Or does yur wife like visitng you in jail?"
The ring on his finger had given it away and once more their eyes met.