<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/lyBiKCC.jpg)</div>"There you are!"<br/><br/>There was a look of exasperation that crossed Trevor Hoyt's dark features as he spotted Constance Patterson, his 'partner'. Partner was a bit of a stretch, he thought with a touch of anger, regarding her and who she was sitting with. Ever since they had been named partners, Connie had been dodging him and it had taken a few days but Trevor had finally tracked her down. It was bad enough that she was enjoying milkshakes while she was supposed to be on the job, it was even worse that she was assaulting someone like Veronika Arkhangelskaya, an innocent girl from Illinois who Connie was adamant was a Russian spy.<br/><br/>The conversation he shared with Captain Folsom in the morning made him cringe, and he wondered - for the 100th time - why it was that he couldn't simply work in the police force like he had wanted all along. Except from the casual glances he received in the diner itself, he knew why. Because he was black and even though times had changed, the mentality of some had not. He wasn't welcomed.<br/><br/>Not in the police force.<br/><br/>Not here.<br/><br/>Clearing his throat, knowing that he could get into a lot of trouble if he raised his voice to two American ladies, Trevor walked forward until he was right between the both of them, his eyes moving from Connie in a warning manner before he looked at Veronika, the beautiful blonde bombshell that Connie was dead set on her being some horrible spy from the war. Was she blind? Did she not know that simply because someone came from Russian descent it did not make them a spy? "Good afternoon, ladies."<br/><br/>As much as he wanted to grab Connie and drag her out of the diner, he knew that would NOT be the best thing to do and so instead, he clenched his teeth and looked at her, his dark brown eyes under the hat he wore giving her a warning look. She either came with him or her cover would be blown. And he knew she had a cover because Veronika was enjoying milkshakes with her, there was no way that the young woman would be so relaxed if she knew just what Connie thought of her.<br/><br/>Gods! They were going to be the laughing stock of the entire department, all because she couldn't do as the Captain had requested.<br/><br/>It was difficult for Trevor to trust her, and it wasn't simply because she was a woman. Constance had something to prove and he knew it, and while he did as well, it wasn't going to jeopardize his job. A shadow came over them and a burly man with friends in the corner was giving him a hard look. "This...gentleman...bothering you, ladies?"<br/><br/>Ah. Of course. The 'Calvary'.<br/><br/>At six feet tall with a fairly firm build, he was considered a threat. But it wasn't because of his stature, it was because of the color of his skin. He wanted to tell the old man to mind his own business, but he knew the kind of attention it would draw, so he took a step back, a respectful step away from the ladies and raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I am simply speaking to the ladies, sir. I am not bothering them at all." Perhaps he shouldn't have entered like he was gunning for them, but the realization that Connie was defying strict orders had angered him. And that had been dangerous.<br/><br/>Yet another reason why women shouldn't be allowed to work in the field that he was in. They proved to be too unpredictable, a hazard to all around them.