A toothy grin lifted the corners of her mouth as her partner gave Brown a very well deserved middle-finger gesture. There was always a lot of headbutting and dominance fighting in the field of crime and even if she tried her best to be 'nice', she still appreciated this brutal honest personality of Brannigan's. It was one of the things she really liked about him. One of... many things she<b>really</b>really liked about him. Perhaps her stupid crush had started the first day she met him, Missy had no idea, but it had remained lurking around ever since that day. Each thing he said or did always got her full support, while she mentally berated herself for feeling like she was an all too eager lap dog, or a fan girl. She had naturally never shared this information with her partner, mostly because she didn't want to spoil their good friendship. It was difficult finding a partner whom became such a close friend and she feared if she would start spilling the beans, something would change.<br/><br/>Then of course, there was also the whole thing with her being too awkward to ever be able to confess anything to anyone. Heck, those few boyfriends she'd ever had had confessed first to her. Whenever the female tried expressing something dear to her heart, like say a crush on someone, she'd start mumbling and go off track and look like an idiot before getting pissed off if the other person didn't get the hint. And she did not need her partner to think she was a halfwit. Her whole career depended largely on Brannigan always giving her good credit and trusting her instincts. Missy knew for a fact that Steele was searching for an excuse to get rid of any 'female competition' around the station. So, she'd remain silent and simply appreciate the fact that she had one helluva good partner.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#9999ff">"Coffee sounds ah-maaazing. I'm more than ready to be out of this fucking pit of depression. I can't think when out here." </span><br/><br/>Not that she was by any means eager to meet up with Steele back at the station... But with a whole shit load of luck, their boss-lady would be busy kissing ass somewhere else.<br/><br/>Back in the car, while sipping on her scalding hot caffeine juice, Missy mulled over Eric's words. Her feet were propped up on the dashboard, a habit nobody had ever managed to nag out of her, as she stared out of the window between the occasional sips. He was right, this was a shitty situation beyond anything she'd ever dealt with. Enzo Marconi was a guy nobody could afford crossing, and she was pretty sure there were already many cops in his pocket. And it didn't matter what kind of an argument they tried pulling against him, his lawyers managed to deflect it all. Witnesses disappeared, evidence disappeared. People were hesitant about taking any further means. It was enough to drive anyone crazy.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#9999ff">"I know exactly what you mean. But we have to be careful not to stray down that path. Too many good cops have gone astray as it is... not that I wouldn't love it if he'd resist or try to flee. I'd teach him to keep giving me these leery looks, like I can't be a cop just 'cause I've got tits." </span><br/><br/>There was a tightness to her tone, she was already getting worked up just thinking about that snake and those smirks he kept sending them. But getting angry would not be getting them results. That was at least what her pops had always said. She needed to clear her mind and try looking at this from a different perspective. And she needed to start bouncing ideas off of Brannigan.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#9999ff">"There is something bothering me about this whole thing. Even if I hate that guy just as much as you do... I still feel like we're starting to take a wrong turn somewhere. Why is he leaving these corpses out here? Why aren't these girls being used for the trafficking? I don't get it. Is he doing this just to mock us? Did they manage to escape but were caught and punished? Ugh... I need to go through the files one more time. This is giving me a royal headache. I mean, what do you think? Am I just being paranoid and crazy here if I feel like this could point to someone else than Marconi? I wouldn't even dare breathe about this back at the station, I know for sure who would rip me a new asshole if I even thought about changing how we're dealing with these murders. But I need your brain here, I need you to tell me if I'm being crazy or not." </span><br/><br/>Her dark eyes rested intently on Eric, a hint of pleading to her voice. He had always had a better intuition than she did and he was all in all a seriously good cop, someone whom was hardly ever wrong about matters like this. If he had never felt this nag of doubt in the back of his mind, then Missy would be fully prepared to drop this line of thought and just focus on the case as it was. They were already nearing the station and she really wanted to hear his piece before they'd be leaving the car.