"another increase?" Ana asks, softly, looking up at her landlord.

"listen, I'm sorry, I really am, but the value of the building is going down so I need to up charge the rent" The landlord explains.

Ana sighs, softly.

"what's with your head?" The landlord asks.

"got hit in the head with a radio" Ana replies, softly. "I'm fine"

"oof" The landlord cringes.

"not the worst thing to happen to me in the past two weeks" Ana shrugs, softly.

"so... the rent?" The landlord requests.

"yeah, yeah" Ana nods, softly, going over to the small box shaped safe that she keeps in the apartment. It contains her service weapon and cash because the landlord only accepts cash.

It's organized by what the money will be used for. Ana takes all of the money out of the "rent" bin and takes all of the money out of the "lunch" bin and all of the money out of "fun" bin (though there was only five bucks in there to begin with).

Ana stands back up and hands him the cash.

"here you go" Ana says, softly, watching as he counts the cash.

"I'm sorry about all of this" The landlord apologizes.

"it's fine, it seems like everything is increasing in price recently" Ana sighs.

"gas is through the roof" The landlord agrees.

"I've started riding my bike to work" Ana says, softly. "can barely keep up with the car payments, but gas too? it's too much"

"how's Esmerelda's hip doing?" The landlord asks.

"she complains about it whenever she gets the opportunity but then she also still manages to bring home a new man every night, so... who knows at this point" Ana sighs, softly.

"wasn't your pay bump at work supposed to cover the hip replacement?" The landlord asks.

"it is, the appointment is scheduled in two months" Ana replies, softly.

"well, again, sorry about this, and have a good evening" The landlord says once he finishes counting the money.

"of course, you have a good night too" Ana says, softly, closing the door once he leaves.

She leans against it, closing her eyes and letting out a long exhale.

"shit"

[Timeskip]

"Settle down. Find a seat. First up, I'd like to congratulate Officer Jackson West on the fine pinch last night. No crook is safe from Officer West, not even his landlord." Grey says, starting roll call.

Everyone applauses and Grey hands Jackson a form.

"Letter of commendation?" Jackson guesses.

"Change of address form. Your apartment is now considered a "house of ill repute" - and under asset seizure. We need your new address by tomorrow, even if it's Mama's house. All right. This sharp-dressed man in the doorway is Detective Nick Armstrong. He'll be in the field after hours for your detecting needs. Yes, Officer Lopez?" Grey continues.

"Detective Armstrong, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is "patrol friendly" and 10 is "making us guard a cleared crime scene in the pouring rain 'cause you get "a power trip off of it," where do you stand?" Angela asks.

"Lopez." Grey scolds.

"No, it's all right, Sarge. I appreciate a direct question. A lot of cops take off the uniform, they put on the suit. Suddenly, they think they're better than the officers in this room. I'm not one of them. Patrol is where it all happens. It's fast, honest, pure, raw. 85% of all crimes are solved at the patrol level. So, the way I see it, I am here to help you, not the other way around. And if that doesn't win you over, I have five dozen of the finest donuts in the break room. That's all I'm saying." Armstrong replies.

"Detective, you think you can buy us with donuts?" Smitty asks.

"you can buy me with donuts, sir" Ana pipes up, softly.

"Knew I was right" Armstrong grins, pulling a donut behind his back and giving it to Ana.

Ana perks up, not having eaten since last night.

"Okay, are we done? Good, 'cause we're done. Be safe out there. Bradford, let me see you a sec." Grey dismisses them.

Ana is eating her donut but stands up with Tim and Lucy.

"Chief Williams added another book to your Sergeant's Exam reading list." Grey says, handing Tim a book

"Split Second Leadership: Leading Men In The Line Of Duty." Tim says, reading the title and frowning.

"Men?" Lucy says.

"It's from the '60s. How is this relevant to 21st-century policing?" Tim asks.

"Ours is not to reason why, Officer Bradford. Read the book." Grey replies.

"Yes, sir." Tim responds.

[Timeskip]

"If I have to suffer, so do you. So, you're gonna read this out loud to me between calls. Only way I'm gonna get it memorized in time." Tim says, passing the book back to Ana.

"Or I could drive and you could read it to yourself." Lucy pipes up.

"Nice try. Start reading." Tim orders.

""Chapter One. True leadership generates respect, not fear. It elevates people, rather than diminishing them."" Ana starts to read

"I like this book." Lucy comments.

"You would. Keep reading." Tim orders.

""The number-one mistake new leaders make is to think themselves suddenly infallible. The best leaders understand that even the lowliest patrol officer has something valuable to teach them."" Ana reads, before Lucy interrupts her again.

"Repeat that last part back to me." Lucy says.

"Memorizing is all about repetition. Trust me. I'm a psych major. I know this stuff." Lucy continues when Tim glares at her.

""The best leaders understand that even the lowliest patrol officer has something valuable to teach them."" Tim repeats.

"Again." Lucy insists.

"7-Adam-19, family disturbance at 217 Evergreen." Dispatch says over the radio.

"Thank God." Tim breathes.

Lucy reaches back and Ana hands her the book.

"7-Adam-19, copy. En route" Ana says into the radio.

"Okay, ETA three minutes. Time to read some more. "An open mind and an open door."" Lucy decides, now reading the book instead of Ana.

[Timeskip]

A woman (Shelly) comes running out of the house to meet them as they get out of the shop.

"They're gonna kill each other! My boys they bought these military vests off the Internet, and they wanna try them out!" Shelly exclaims.

"Are they bulletproof?" Ana asks, softly, as they follow Shelly into the backyard where two young boys (Jason and J-Bag) are pointing guns at each other, like they're about to duel.

"Oh, I hope so. They won't listen to me." Shelly responds.

"Maybe you'll listen to them." Shelly tells the two boys.

"Ma'am, get in the house." Lucy directs.

"I called the cops." Shelly continues to talk to the two boys.

"Put the guns down! Put them down!" Ana and Tim call while Lucy escorts Shelly into the house.

"3, 2, 1." The boys count before firing at each other and falling to the ground.

"Drop your weapons!" Tim yells while Ana walks over to Jason and kicks the gun away from him.

"Oh my god!" Shelly screeches.

"Stay in the house." Lucy tells Shelly.

"See, I told you they'd work." Jason grins.

"Drop the guns right now!" Lucy yells.

"Drop your weapon now!" Tim orders.

"Relax. We were just messing around. J-Bag bet me the vests wouldn't work." Jason says, still on the ground.

"You been drinking, or are you normally this stupid?" Tim asks while hauling J-Bag up.

"come on, get up" Ana sighs, softly.

"I-I don't feel so good." Jason mumbles. Ana pulls him up and realizes he has a gunshot wound in the torso.

"Tim. Tim." Ana says, softly, looking up at Tim while Lucy walks over to help Ana.

"Look at you! You guys never listen to what I'm saying." Shelly lectures.

"I won the bet." J-Bag grins.

"What bet? He's dying!" Shelly yells.

"It doesn't matter! It was his idea to buy the vests!" J-Bag responds.

Ana and Lucy lay Jason back down and apply pressure to the wound.

"7-Adam-19. I need an ambulance. Gunshot wound to the upper torso." Tim says over the radio, keeping his grip on J-Bag with one hand.

"Mom, go back in the house!" J-Bag yells.

"He's bleeding. What are you doing here?" Shelly sighs.

[Timeskip]

Tim has decided that only Ana is allowed to read. So she's back to reading.

""Chapter Three. The healthy habits of command. Delegation is the key to leading men in times of stress. Don't ever think you can carry the load all by yourself."" Ana reads, softly.

"That is so true. Don't you think?" Lucy pipes up.

"It's hard enough to listen to it without you editorializing." Tim replies.

"Hey, I'm happy to stop reading a sexist book from the 60's. You're gonna have to re-read all of this anyway to really memorize it." Lucy responds.

"No. I memorize best when I hear it." Tim shakes his head.

"Really?" Lucy asks.

"Yeah." Tim nods.

"Huh." Lucy says.

"what is it?" Ana asks, softly.

"Nothing." Lucy shakes her head.

"Boot." Tim orders.

"You might have a learning difference." Lucy explains.

"A what?" Tim asks.

"Technically, it's classified as a disability, but it really just means that you're wired to process information differently. In your case, through through hearing rather than reading." Lucy explains.

"oh" Ana says, softly.

"I don't have a learning disability." Tim shuts down.

"A lot of people have them. I bet Isabel helped you in the Academy, read through the materials with you and stuff." Lucy says.

"Let's stop talking about this" Ana says, softly, immediately getting protective when Isabel's name is brought up.

"7-Adam-19, suspicious person. Unknown male sitting in a red minivan. Possibly casing at 1966 Keegan Street." Dispatch says over the radio.

"7-Adam-19, show us responding." Tim says over the radio.

"All I'm saying is –" Lucy starts but realizes Tim is ignoring her.

"never mind" Lucy sighs.

[Timeskip]

They park behind the minivan and get out, approaching the car while the man (Rex) gets out of the car on the drivers side.

"Let's talk on the sidewalk." Tim says, before realizing who it is.

"Rex? You're still chasing bounty? I thought you moved to Reno." Tim realizes.

"All my bail jumpers come to L.A. I got a tip one of 'em's down the street staying at his aunt's place." Rex explains.

"We got three 911 calls about a weirdo in a minivan. Casing." Lucy mentions.

"Watch your tone, Boot." Rex responds.

"maybe you should watch yours" Ana responds, softly, getting protective over Lucy.

"Oh, you don't get to call her "Boot," Rex. You're retired. She's the police now." Tim says, before Ana can do anything else.

"Let's see your bail bonds license and the warrant on your jumper." Lucy says.

"You let her talk to you like that?" Rex asks.

"Nico Sandoval. Attempted murder? Okay, you need to call dispatch and let us know when you're out here. This guy sounds dangerous." Ana says, softly.

"I've been Code 5 on dangerous men since before you were born, little lady." Rex responds.

"Well, in this century, you notify local law enforcement so when you get in the weeds, we know who's out here." Lucy replies.

"I don't call for help. Help calls for me." Rex responds and Ana has to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Maybe you need to let this guy read your book." Lucy says to Tim.

"Rex, if you're gonna be out here, you gotta play by the rules." Tim tells Rex.

"Ah, come on, Tim. I call this in, someone's gonna snatch my bounty. I need that money." Rex argues.

"Nico shows, you give us a call. No one's gonna "snatch your bounty."" Tim orders.

"All right." Rex agrees.

"It's good to see you, Rex." Tim nods.

"It's good seeing you, too, Tim." Rex says before they get back in the shop and go back on patrol.

[Timeskip]

"What are we doing back here?" Lucy asks the next day when they pull up behind the same red minivan.

"I checked the computer. Rex didn't bring in his bounty last night, which means he's been out here this whole time." Tim explains.

"So a welfare check?" Ana asks, softly.

"Oh, don't put it to him like that." Tim replies as they get out of the car. As they walk to the car, they see the van is empty with a broken car window.

"7-Adam-19, got a broken car window, missing driver. Send backup to my location." Ana says, softly, over the radio.

Lucy finds a blood trail and they follow it to a patch of overgrown weeds where Rex is bleeding from his leg.

"Rex." Tim exhales.

"Eh, that little punk hit me with a cheap shot." Rex responds.

"7-Adam-19, we need an RA to 1966 Keegan. Assault victim. Broken arm, possible concussion." Lucy says over the radio.

"Where'd he go?" Tim asks.

"His aunt's house. He's long gone by now, though." Rex replies.

Tim runs off to the aunt's house. Ana hesitates for a second before running after him. A few seconds later, Lucy is also running after Tim.

Tim breaks down the door, running in where his aunt (Michelle) is in the living room.

"Nico, where is he?" Tim asks.

"He, I don't know. He isn't here." Michelle says, shakily.

"There's blood on your front door. That's exigent circumstances, so we're not leaving till you tell us where he is." Ana points out, softly.

"He isn't here!" Michelle exclaims.

"So, you're gonna call him. Otherwise we're gonna book you for aiding and abetting a fugitive." Lucy instructs, tossing Michelle a phone. "Do it now."

"Hey. What's up?" Sandoval says over the phone.

"Cops are here. Where are you?" Michelle asks.

Ana and Lucy hear an echo and the sound of a closing door, they follow the noise to a closet door.

"I'm in Florida." Sandoval says over the phone.

They all point their guns at the door.

"Nico Sandoval! You got five seconds to surrender!" Tim calls.

Ana opens the door to see Nico Sandoval sitting on the floor, talking on the phone.

"I'm in Florida, yo." Sandoval says. He steps out of the closet and puts down the phone. He's short and stocky, so they holster their weapons after seeing that he's unarmed.

"You guys want some of this?" Sandoval asks.

All three of them charge at him, he almost wins the fight until Ana tackles him to the ground. He rolls over on top of her to punch her but Tim pins him on top of Ana and handcuffs him.

"Michelle! Bail me out, okay?" Sandoval calls as Tim hauls him off of Ana and helps Ana stand up.

"You're coming, too. Let's go." Lucy says, walking over to Michelle.

"What?!" Michelle yells.

"Right now." Lucy insists as she handcuffs Michelle.

[Timeskip]

Tim is working out with a punching bag when Lucy enters the station gym.

"Training for the rematch with Nico?" Lucy asks.

"Ah, we got him in the end." Tim responds, turning around to look at her.

"Here." Lucy says, handing him an audio drive with earbuds.

"What's this?" Tim asks.

"It is Split Second Leadership: Leading Men In The Line of Duty, the audio book." Lucy answers.

"This book's out of print. There's no audio book." Tim frowns.

"Yeah, which is why I had Ana record one for you. Uh, listen, I talked to Isabel, and from what she said, it's clear you're a kinesthetic learner, which just means that you need to listen while you're being active in order to absorb things. There's no shame in it. Really. Honestly, it's probably why you excel at being a cop. I'll see you tomorrow." Lucy explains.

"yeah" He pauses for a moment "thanks" Tim calls as she leaves.

He puts in the earbuds and hears Ana's voice.

"Split Second Leadership by Curtis Philbrick, read by Ana Cabrera and produced by the best rookie you've ever trained"