Chapter 24: Alone

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**Chapter takes place during the end of S3E4 Checkmate

Later that night, Eve found herself staring up at her bedroom ceiling. Even though she was exhausted, she still kept jumping at every noise she heard expecting it to be Javíer letting himself in with his new key. Maybe Murph had been expecting him too, because he just couldn't seem to settle down either. Zooming across her apartment every few minutes and crashing into stuff in the dark like the energy filled kitten he was. Eve knew that she needed to sleep, but there was no way that she could calm her mind and actually rest without Javíer safely in her bed.

Javí was going to be late; he had told her as much. He had specifically told her not to wait up for him. She should be sleeping after spending the previous night writing into the wee hours of the night. But of course, self care had never been something Eve had particularly good at so she didn't end up listening to Javí at all.

It was nearly 10:45 when Eve finally gave up and left her apartment in search of him. There was no need to change out of her red baggy flannel pyjama pants and the faded 'I heart NYC' t-shirt that her nephew had bought her from a street vendor when he was ten.

Eve begrudgingly put on a bra but only stopped to grab her old grey zip up hoodie before she peppered her little kitten with kisses and promised him that she would bring his daddy home as soon as she could.

She tried not to look at her reflection in the living room mirror, knowing full well that she was dressed like a messy teenager still in high school. But Eve figured it wouldn't matter because Javíer would surely be in his office surrounded by paperwork, not hitting the town celebrating his big win.

And sure enough, that was exactly where Eve found him. But not before running straight into Colonel Martinez in the hallway outside of DEA's offices.

"I'm so sorry!" Eve gasped as the man was able to swiftly catch her in his arms and keep her from hitting the ground harder than she would have otherwise.

As he helped her to feet, Eve blinked a few times after she read his name tag. All at once Eve discovered that she had just run right smack into the very Colonel that had worked with Javier in Cali. Suddenly, her pride began to hurt her much more than the fall. So much so that her cheeks began to burn bright red and she couldn't seem to find her voice.

"I..I wasn't looking. I mean, I was looking, just not where I should have been. Distracted." Eve rambled through a nervous giggle. "I saw the...never mind. You have such fast reflexes. Did I hurt you?"

"No harm done. Have a good night, Miss." Martinez politely nodded, eager to leave once he knew that she was fine. But Javíer had heard the commotion outside of his office and poked his head into the hallway before the Colonel could make his exit.

"Eve?" Javí called out in confusion. He hadn't been expecting her that night and almost didn't recognize her in what she was wearing. But after everything that he had been through, laying his eyes on her was like a breath of fresh air. It was impossible for him not to find this side of her adorable, even though he could tell that she was mortified.

"Hi." Eve gulped as she tucked her hair behind her ears and zipped her grey hoodie up to cover her graphic tee. Eve thought on her feet and tapped into her inner ballerina as she adjusted her posture with grace. She looked both men in the eye and held her head high in an attempt to salvage the situation. Maybe if she projected enough confidence they wouldn't notice how ridiculously out of place she looked. Probably pointless at this point, but it was her only option. But little did Eve know, her little show of professionalism and humility, just endeared her to the two men further.

But soon the brief levity in their eyes faded and Javier and the Colonel shared a sad heavy look that Eve didn't understand. But before she could feel even more out of place, Javíer placed his hand on the small of her back. Effectively comforting her by implying that she was with him and not some crazy woman off the street.

"Colonel." Javíer formally announced with the hint of a proud smirk. Raising to the occasion and standing up a little taller as he stood closer to Eve. Unfortunately, Javi had no idea if he'd ever get the chance to introduce his old friend to his new girlfriend and seized on the opportunity. "I'd like to introduce you to Evelyn Capshaw."

Martinez could read something in Javíer's voice and began to look at Eve with more reverence in his eyes. Needless to say, Javíer didn't need to refer to Eve as his girlfriend because the look on his face spoke volumes. Eve could feel it as well and felt a swell of pride in her chest.

Soon Martinez's expression softened towards her as he took her hand and really looked at her for the first time. Eager to give her the respect that was owed her now that she wasn't just another stranger bumping into him in a random hallway, but his colleague's significant other. Even makeup free and dressed like she was, the Colonel could appreciate Eve's natural beauty and the fact that she had come in search of Javi during a time like this.

Martinez was finally getting a glimpse at the more intimate side of a man that he had known for years. There was something special in the timing of such an introduction that was not lost on either of the two men.

"It is an honour to meet you, Evelyn." Martinez declared with a pride in his voice that was surely directed more towards Javíer. Eve was touched by the kindness in his eyes and wondered if she was the first woman Javí had introduced him to.

"Call me Eve, please." Eve beseeched him with a charming smile. "Congratulations on your arrest. I'm so sorry for running into you like that. It was my fault. I was looking for Javi, and was checking the board. I really should have changed before I came..."

"Happy to have this run in." Martinez nodded kindly with his voice breaking ever so slightly. "Very happy indeed." Meeting her really seemed to mean something to Martinez, but all Eve could do was politely smile while the two men shook hands and shared a knowing look that conveyed more than Eve could ever understand.

"Quizás no estés solo después de todo." Martinez uttered with his voice laced with emotion. (Maybe you aren't all alone, after all)

The truth was, Martinez was getting a chance to see that Javíer had a life outside of the DEA. As dedicated as he had been, Martinez had always had a family to go home to every night and a part of him had pitied Javíer for not having the same. A sentiment that was more relevant now that he had been framed and was facing a life outside of law enforcement. Meeting Eve gave him hope that Javíer would be okay without him to a certain extent. Proving that Javí would have something else in his life if god forbid his badge was ever taken away from him, as well.

Eve on the other hand, wasn't sure what the meaning behind their moment was, but felt honoured to have witnessed Javíer reaching out and hugging his old friend nonetheless.

"Ya no estoy solo, hermano." Javíer solemnly answered him. (I am no longer alone, brother.)

"Everything okay?" Eve asked after Martinez had said his goodbyes and was out of earshot.

As they slowly walked back towards Javíer's office, Eve noticed the plant that she had given him sitting on her desk just outside his door. A tell tale sign that he had been chain smoking for hours and was trying not to kill it in the process. She couldn't help but have a sinking feeling that she should have come looking for him hours ago.

"This was his last case." Javíer uttered in a voice that didn't sound like his.

"Martinez is retiring now? But...he can't!" Eve blurted out as she gestured back to the hallway as if she were going to run back out and stop him. There were three other godfathers out there and it wasn't as though Javí had a lot of friends in high places. But something in Javíer's brown eyes stopped her from ranting about it.

Instead of addressing the loss, Javíer let her follow him into his office. Both of them passing Stoddard who was on his way home for the evening. Grateful that he didn't make any snarky comments about her attire or the late hour of her visit. In fact, he sorta looked as though he had seen a ghost after delivering the rest of the Jurado tapes to Javíer's desk.

"Is anyone else still here?" Eve asked as Javíer sat down at his messy desk again and lit himself what she assumed by the air quality in his office, was his one of the copious amounts of cigarettes he had been smoking that evening.

"It's late. You shouldn't have waited up." Javíer stated without any emotion across the smoke filled room.

Eve silently emptied out his full ashtray and cracked open his window. She had been right to be worried about him and wondered when had been the last time he drank anything other than whiskey. Javí was a mess and she couldn't stop frowning as she watched him pour himself another drink. Silently offering to pour her one as well, only to have her politely refuse.

Eve wasn't sure if he was celebrating, blowing off steam, or self medicating himself over whatever the heavy moment he had with Colonel Martinez had been about. But either way, it was getting a lot easier for Eve to read him and know when he needed her. Eve wasn't going anywhere. This had been the biggest arrest of his career and whatever was going on with Javi was starting to feel like the opposite of a celebration.

"You crossed him out." Eve uttered, trying to break the heavy silence in the room.

"Huh?"

"Gilberto's picture on the bulletin board." Eve replied. It had been the bright red X on the picture that had distracted her in the hallway and caused her to run into the Colonel in the first place. "Sorry I wasn't there to see you do it. Must have felt good."

"Sorry." Javíer half heartedly apologized through a long yawn.

He knew that she was waiting for answers and that it was impossible to distract or deflect a woman like her. But he didn't know how to tell her about Colonel Martinez getting framed. A part of him wanted her to comfort him, but Javí hated the idea of her worrying more than she had already. If Eve knew that Vargas was trying to discredit Gilberto's arrest, she'd worry that his head would be the next one on the chopping black. And sadly, Javíer didn't know how to convince her or himself otherwise. "You shouldn't have waited up for me. I'll walk you home."

"It's okay, Javí." Eve insisted, finally feeling a little relieved now that they were together again and that he was talking. Whenever he was quiet and trapped inside his head, Eve worried about him the most. "Are those from the Jurado wiretap?" Eve asked, motioning to the pile of tapes on his desk. "Anything good?"

"I don't even know if I should be listening to them in the first place." Javí sighed as he leaned back in his chair. As exhausted as Javí might be, Eve's presence seemed to ground him and remind him what was really important. She had been in his office for under five minutes, and he was already oversharing with her. "Her wiretap wasn't exactly legal."

"Neither is money laundering for a murderous drug cartel." Eve quipped, feeling uncharacteristically unsympathetic towards the Jurados. Eve wasn't sure why she was rooting for the pair of them to get caught and have the book thrown at them. They hadn't been involved in the more violent aspects of the Cali cartel. But their actions had allowed the Rodriguez brothers to operate under the guise of respectability. It was the kind of crime that made her sick to her stomach. Their hands were anything but clean.

"True." Javí puffed out a small laugh. "But if word gets out that we have these, they'll argue that we violated Christina Jurado's rights. Which we very much have."

"I know..." Eve sighed as she pushed herself off the doorframe and leaned on the edge of his desk beside him. She did wish that there were another way. But Christina Jurado was all that stood between them and the Cali cartel's money man. "So these are the kind of decisions that you had to make all the time back in the day, huh?"

"Not as glamorous or sexy as it looks, is it?"

"You wear it well, baby." Eve smirked as she reached down and ran her fingers through his hair and pushed it off his forehead. She sympathized with him, how could she not. These weren't easy decisions to make.

"What would you do?" Javí asked as he blew his smoke away from her.

"I'm not the right person to ask." Eve tried to laugh away his question as something absurd. But the truth was, she didn't want to admit that she was bias and didn't give a fuck about Christina Jurado's rights. Not when she was guilty as hell and there was much at stake.

"Well, I think you're the perfect person to ask.''Javí shot back with nothing but warmth in his voice. "What's more important. Her rights or locating her husband?"

"Do you want me to be honest with you?"

"I thought you were always honest with me." Javí teased with a rare smile, he loved having these kinds of conversations with her. Even though he knew that the devil sitting on his shoulder would have him listen to every single one of those tapes regardless of how wrong it might be; he was still interested in her opinion.

"Publicly her rights matter." Eve decided to blurt out. But as soon as she did, she couldn't believe how terrible the words sounded coming out of her mouth and pressed her lips together. Quickly looking behind her to make sure that they were still alone. "Maybe! Fuck, I don't know. I'm just a secretary, remember?" Eve playful whined.

"Oh my god, you're going to hell, Capshaw." Javíer gasped as he pretended to be offended by her opinion. She was adorable and a big part of him agreed with her answer, but messing with her was fun. "Are you secretly a right winger?"

"Fuck, I sound just like my dad behind closed doors, don't I? Her rights do matter." Eve tried to backpedal her answer, only to have Javíer pull her into his lap with a small smile on his face. "They do matter, they really do. I didn't mean it like that."

"Oh no, that's not what you just said." Javí mocked as she curled up against his side and placed her head on his shoulder as he smoked away. "Are there any other laws or rights that you think we should just pretend to follow?"

"Don't get me started." Eve teased through her giggles. "We'll be here all night."

"Maybe you should be the one with the badge, huh?" Javí wistfully pondered as he lifted her long hair out of his way to place a kiss on the back of her neck. Even though her bruises were all but gone, he still found himself giving extra attention whenever he could to where her attacker had hurt her. "You're more than just a secretary and you know it."

"I think you asked the wrong question, Jav." Eve whispered against his temple as he left stray kisses up and down her neck and enjoyed the smell of her sweet and complicated perfume. "Maybe it's not about whether or not her rights matter. It's whether it's worth the risk to violate them. I mean, I get that he's kinda cute." Eve shrugged as she took the paper off his desk and studied Franklin Jurado passport photo. Smiling to herself when she could feel Javíer tense up beneath her when her eyes began to linger a little too long on the handsome husband. "But cute or not, we need him to testify. Besides, what if this guy moves on to launder money for the next cartel and we miss our chance to get him now. Do you have any other options? I thought surveilling the wife was really important?"

"You said it before," Javíer sighed as he closed his eyes. "The wife is all we really have right now. Finding Jurado could also be what leads us to Pacho or Miguel. I doubt lightning is going to strike twice for Chris and Dan in Cali. They're not going to get as lucky as they did with Gilberto. They're all on the run now."

"What's the point of doing the right thing if it means that these thugs end up walking." Eve pondered out loud. "Don't let their suits fool you, too, baby. I read their files, they're as violent as they come. No matter how you look at it, Cali is the bigger evil in this scenario. Especially now that you've caught Gilberto, I'm sure they're going to be looking for payback. The clock is ticking, a war could break out at any moment."

"I know." Javí sighed. "But I've been doing the wrong things for the right reasons for a long time now." Hugging her closer and getting a little bit too comfortable with her in his arms. It was late and for the first time in hours he was finally able to relax. If he wasn't careful, Eve's warm body could easily lull him to sleep in his office chair. "I didn't get a chance to tell you about today. Samper is standing by the arrest, but the rest of his cabinet still want to honour the deal. If things get violent and they think another war is going to break out...who knows if more will end up changing their minds. They're already trying to discredit Gilberto's arrest just in case."

"What? But the statement to the press?" Eve pressed. "They can't backpedal now, can they?"

Javíer quickly explained to her how Colonel Martinez had just been framed and made to look as though he had been on Cali's payroll. Sending a clear message to law enforcement not to attempt what he and Javier had accomplished. But before Javi had finished, it was his turn to feel Eve tense up in his arms.

"So he didn't retire." Eve lamented. "I wish I had known. I would have said something. But for what it's worth, I can see what you see in him; I only got good vibes from him. This is so unfair. I hate that you have to fight this battle on all sides, baby." Eve sympathized before she kissed 'her spot' along his jaw. "You're just gunna have to try to tune out all of the noise and follow your instincts."

"What if my instincts end up violating a woman's rights?" Javí questioned. "How does that sit with you?"

"Well, you're in luck." Eve smiled as she puffed out a sad laugh. "Because back in the very recent past, I was known for being able to debate both sides of the philosophical and moral ramifications of what you decide to do with these tapes. I used to rationalize away all kind of things to earn my paycheck, remember? And usually for people who weren't trying to do the right thing at the end of the day."

"So you're neutral?" Javíer huffed. "Thanks. How much do I have to pay to have you on my side?"

"I'll put it on your tab." Eve giggled. "I didn't say that I was neutral. I'll stand by you no matter what you decide, you know that." Eve assured him. "Just keep in mind that you already know how guilty both of the Jurados are. This is some kind of game to them, but they could get people hurt, a lot of people. Putting him on the stand could possibly stop another war before it starts. I know these tapes are the key. They have to be. If they weren't, I wouldn't have had to entice Stoddard to actually start the wiretap in the first place..."

"Entice?" Javíer repeated as he

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