She jotted down noted as they ate and seemed interested. Good, that meant she was interested. It gave him the smallest bit of leverage to try to plead his case. Now he just had to figure out how to word his request. Best to do it a bit at a time. She asked his name and age and he grinned, she was going to work with him.

"I'm twenty actually. And you can call me Max." He said.

He continued to eat his hearty meal. Man why did food taste so much better when it was free? The cook must know when you aren't paying for a meal and added extra seasoning.

"I'll take you to Tony and get the details. Heck I'll bring you to the location myself tomorrow. But, I have a favor to ask in return. Nothing big," He added quickly, "When you get home from this tonight Google Maxwell Rosewood. See what you can find, look wherever you can your a detective. I've had a very intersting year and I need some help that will be obvious to you when you've finished."

He knew what she would find. Probably DMV records, papers from Virginia about honor roll, and a death certificate and obituary for him. If she looked she'd find the police report if him being hit by a car a year ago. He hoped it would be enough to peak her interest.

"If you don't find yourself interested after you do the research I'll call it even for letting me go. Deal?" He said extending his hand to shake.

He was twenty? Quin scowled silently to herself. Why hadn't he just been going to an 18+ club? There were plenty of them in the city and he would have had an easier time laying low than going someplace people would be drinking and expect their peers to do the same. She didn't ask, because the kid was still talking...asking for a favor.

Detective Archer opened her mouth to tell the kid that he was in no position to ask for favors, but then shut her mouth again. Something about this was hinky. For her entire life, Quin had been convinced that fate was written in the stars and that you often ended up in places because that was where you were supposed to be. It would be hypocritical to change that thinking now.

Another bite of burger down, Quin tilted her head slightly at the kid sitting across from her. He said he needed help, and helping people had been exactly why Quin had signed on for police work.

Quin reached into her purse again, this time grabbing a card and sliding it across the table. "I'll do what you ask. My direct cell number is on that card. Text me with a time and place for tomorrow. Why do I have to do research though? Why can't you just tell me what's going on?" . Quin looked around, "Is someone keeping you from talking about it?"

She agreed and slid him her card. He pocketed it quickly and continued to enjoy his burger. He saw her give a paranoid look around as she questioned why he had set her on her mission. He shook his head in reply.

"I'll give you the info on the ID ring. No one is stopping me from talking to you, but I've been through this before and if I just told you you wouldn't believe me. Heck you'd think I'm crazy and then you'd end up looking it up for yourself anyway." He supplied.

He finished off his plate and felt a sense of satisfaction. She would be a good resource to helping him get himself back on the grid and do it discreetly. He had work to do now, he had to go have a chat with Tony.

"Give me a call tomorrow when you get everything set up for the bust and I'll be there. We can talk about my personal drama when that's done. I have to say Detective I can't believe I'm saying this but I'm glad I ran into you tonight " He said.

"You'd be surprised what I would believe.". Quin said. After all these years in MRC, there wasn't much at all that would surprise Detective Archer. There had been invisible pink elephants, a pig man had flipped her car once and then it had been smashed by a t-Rex, and so many other things that she was almost sure she could have convinced the kid sitting across from her. Still, he had a point, no matter what he'd said and what she'd believe there was going to be research when she got home.

Still. Quin frowned. "I'm not sure I want to set up a full sting on this. If you're right and these guys are skittish, it would be better to keep this small." . Quin thought for a moment as she finished her shake, "I'll let you know.".

The redhead sat back in her seat and studied the kid across from her, trying to pick out a few defining features in case she was getting played.

"You certainly made my night more interesting too. It was nice to meet you...Max."

Max had gone to meet Tony after his talk with Quin. The man had questioned Max about wanting a new ID so soon but Max fed him a line about having lost it at a girls house after having one to many at the bar. The guy seemed to buy it and gave him the number. Max got the address and time for the following day and sent it to Quin. He told her to meet him at the diner the next day before the op and went home to crash.

******

The next day was dull. Max got up and tidied up his place. It was amazing the kind of mess he could make even though he loved by himself. He was off again today having pulled five straight nights earlier that week.

He wondered what Quin would dig up on him. He wanted some answers about how he was alive and hoped she would be just the person to help. Having a good sleuth on your side when you were looking for information couldn't be a bad thing. He had already started planning what leads he could follow on his own personal case.

He had slept late and the afternoon went by in a haze of television and movies. By the time the sun started to set and Max got ready to leave he was already feeling a bit stir crazy. Happy for an excuse to head out he left for the diner to meet Quin.

The street outside Vibe was basically empty. The crowd wouldn't be there till later in the night. Max leaned against the wall of the diner and lit a cigarette as he waited for the detective. Tonight would be interesting.

Well, that hadn't gone exactly as planned. The whole way home, Quin replayed the strange interaction she'd had. The detective had gone into tonight hoping to shed more light on a fraud ring that had rapidly been spreading its wares through the city. In a way, Quin had done that, but she'd also found herself in the middle of a mystery.

Once inside and in the sweats she'd been craving all night, Detective Archer opened her laptop and got down to business.

Forty minutes, and many keystrokes later, Quin leaned back in her chair and ran her hands over her eyes and through her hair. The crazy thing...the crazy thing about Max Rosewood was that there was no Max Rosewood...at least not one who was alive.

The most consistent information that Quin could find was about a Max Rosewood who was from Virginia, an Honor Roll student with a Lawyer for a father and a Doctor for a mother. He'd lived a pretty standard life...show choir...that was interesting. There's was even an old picture...from an obituary which was sure as heck the same kid she'd just sat and had a burger with no more than an hour and a half before.

Something didn't add up...didn't add up at all. Quin was thinking in a lot of italics, and that generally meant that something weird was going on. Why would this kid ask her to look into all of this stuff if he had somehow faked his death and was operating under the radar. It was the type of thing that screamed for more subterfuge and not a subtle plea for help.

Quin finally shut the laptop down in the wee hours of the morning, she figured she probably knew about as much about Max Rosewood as there was to know from all of the places she was able to access information. Several pages in her steno were full of questions to ask when she saw Max next...tomorrow for the stakeout. The redhead groaned, it was going to have to be an early morning tomorrow.

...and it was. Quin had a lot to set up, and even more to clear with her superiors. It wasn't going to be a full blown sting, and she'd made sure to be careful not to put too much emphasis on her informant. There were back channels to go through here, and sure this was more the sort of thing that other departments handled...but Detective Archer had a reputation...and was able to push things through. She texted her informal CI the information and went home to get ready.

Tonight there were no skirts and definitely weren't any heels. Comfortable boots were the order of the day, ones that she could run in, if necessary. Jeans and button up flannel followed, and a worn leather jacket went over the top of it all. When it was time, she left to meet with Max.

Approaching the club from the night before, Quin spotted the young man and made her way over to where he was standing, hands in her pockets.

"So..." she said on her approach, "I get the feeling your desire for a fake ID had less to do with dancing and drinking and more to do with the fact that you're supposed to be six feet under. Going to fill me in on that when we're done here?"

Max saw Quin headed towards him. She was the greatest contrast from the previous night. Her outfit today was all function. Max gave a little smile to himself, she could act like she was all practical but Max had seen her the night before. As uncomfortable as she might be she knew how to get dolled up.

He tossed his cigarette into the ashtray outside the diner and zipped up his black hoodie. He'd gone for non descript tonight as well. A dull black hoodie and some dark jeans with work boots.

As she got closer she spoke. So apparently she had done the research Max asked her to do. That was a a step in the right direction. Max gave a start in reaction to her statement and gave a look around to make sure no one was nearby. He went over to meet her.

"Not much filling in to do, I have very few answers and a ton of questions. Hence why I thought maybe you could help me once we get done with this. For now just know that what you read last night wasn't faked, it all really happened." He said.

Right now he wanted to get this sting underway. The sooner he could finish this and maybe show Quin he was a decent guy the sooner he could find out about what happened to him. He didn't know the details of the plan yet and wanted to be informed before having to go in.

"So what do you need me to do for all this tonight?" He asked.

Dark hoodie, dark jeans. At least the kid knew how to dress not to stand out. Quin approached and couldn't help but see the distinct orange glow of a cigarette flare in the dark before it was extinguished.

"First things first...don't light another one of those things. I don't want my jacket smelling like an ashtray and I don't particularly like dry cleaners either..." . Really, it was 2017, who even smoked anymore?

That settled, Quin shrugged her shoulders. One of the hardest lessons she'd had to learn when she had started running her own investigations was patience.

"You'll go meet the guy with the backdrop and get your ID. Before you go we will wire you up and listen. We will take it, and the ID, from there. We generally don't involve members of the public in actual stings. It's bad for business when they get caught in the crossfire." it was a simple matter of logistics, this op would probably go on for months and get more and more intricate as it proceeded. The NYPD wasn't nearly as interested in the fake ID's as they see the other documents being supplied by the ring, you had to start somewhere though, and CI's this willing to help were rare enough that Quin was willing to play the small fish in the big pond. Max's part in the whole thing was honestly pretty small.

What wasn't small was Detective Archer's curiosity about Max and his past. He told her that there wasn't much more info outside what she had found online and Quin shook her head, ponytail swaying.

"After we are done at the bus stop, you are going to walk me through exactly how you got to where you are. I'm willing to help you, but I'm not going to be able to go through channels and if I'm going out on a limb I need all of the info. Sure I got a lot of info from the internet, but every detail could be important."

Quin explained the operation and it all seemed pretty straight forward. All he had to do was go in and get another ID. Cake walk. He had never worn a wire before but in the movies it didn't look that uncomfortable.

"Sounds easy enough. Gotta admit I was hoping for a little bit of a production. It always looks so cool on tv. People in SWAT gear covering all the exits and breaching the building. I guess this works too." He said with a smile.

She told him she needed more information about his death when all this was done. That was good, it meant she was at least convinced that things were not as straight forward as they first aooeard. He wasn't looking forward to all the questions he wouldn't be able to answer but it was a start. Last time he had tried to remember last his death all he had gotten for his trouble was a massive headache.

"That's fair. I'm not trying to be secretive about it I'm just in the dark about a lot of the details. But I'll give you everything I have. So do we need to go now?" He asked.

Quin chuckled a bit at Max's eagerness. He had hoped for a production? "It all seems very exciting and glamorous until there actually are SWAT teams and bullets." . It was something you never really go used to, no matter how many times you got into bad situations. Bullets were scary, that's all there was to it.

"Anyway, trust me, you're doing a lot of good for us. I've been working on bringing down this ring for a couple of months now. This is the first big break. Gotta take things slow and go by the book to make sure everything we get sticks."

The conversation continued and Quin nodded as Max spoke, taking mental notes. Besides the fact that he had seemingly come back from the dead, there were a lot of holes in his memory of the time. The redhead shrugged her shoulders, "That's okay. I still need all the details I can get. It's hard to help without all of the available info."

Max asked if they should get going and Quin nodded her head. "Our van is around the corner. We will get you wired up and head to the location you sent me. You'll do your thing and we'll stay close by in case things go south." . Things wouldn't go south, but it was always good to have backup...just in case.

Max nodded as Quin spoke and they headed around the corner to the van. He got inside and found himself looking at several officers and numerous equipment secured in the back. He sat on one of the benches as the van pulled out and let the tech officer explain to him the situation.

He lifted his shirt when prompted and felt the cool wire and mic being placed on his chest. They taped it down and when he lowered his shirt he couldn't see where the thing was consealed. He pressed on it for a second and felt the lump. They did a quick sound check and then the van stopped and Max opened the back door.

"See you on the other side Q." He said giving a thumbs up.

He exited the van and made his way to the building down the street. It was an old five story office building that looked rather run down. Max walked to the door and knocked three times. He heard a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"How are the GIANTS doing?" It asked.

"18-0 in the fourth quarter." He replied with the code phrase.

The door opened and he saw a man standing in the doorway. He pointed down the hallway.

"Head to the elevator and up. Fifth floor." He said.

Max walked down the hallway looking into numerous rooms that branched off the main hall. He saw roughly a dozen guys sitting at random tables in one room. The others were being used to take pictures for IDs. There were four booths set up, one in each room and each had a photographer and a person getting the picture taken.

The last room beside the elevator was closed off and Max heard the sound of a machine clicking. He assumed it was where the ID were being printed. He stepped into the elevator and punched the button. He went up to the fifth floor and exited.

The floor was mostly open, desks situated throughout. There was a counter and small kitchen off to one corner and he saw a guy standing there making coffee. Large windows took up the opposing wall, giving a view of the side of the brick building next door. In the center of the room were three burly looking men and a girl who looked no older than seventeen was on her knees beside them. One of the men approached Max.

"Sorry mate I gotta give you a pat down. Lift your shirt." He said as he neared Max, his accent a thick Australian.

Max felt himself start to sweat. This wasn't the plan. Security had been no where near this tight the last time. He had planned on walking in and out not this

"Wow security is no joke huh?" He said, his tone conversational."

"You know how it is. Had a bust on one of our workers just making sure we don't have any snitches." He pointed over at the girl, "She's a fine example of why. Didn't have the right password. Now lift your shirt."

Max looked at the girl as the man knelt over and started patting Max's legs. She looked terrified. She was probably here to get an ID so she could go out with friends. A dumb thing to do yes, but Max stomach turned as he thought what they would do to her. He tugged at his tee shirt and started to lift it slowly. His mind racing, things were about to go South and he needed a solid plan.

"Good thing I'm no snitch then." He said with a laugh.

Quin had said she would be nearby. Max found himself wishing she were a bit closer.

All things considered, the set up went off without a hitch. As he had been since early on in their professional relationship, Max was cooperative and attentive as he was given instructions. Wires had gotten smaller and smaller over the years and as long as nobody asked Max to strip, they would be okay. Still, a small knot of apprehension tied itself in Quin's stomach as they approached the address they'd been given. Despite the fact that the building down the street looked a bit run down it wasn't the usual kind of slum that usually housed this kind of operation. That name again. What was it with people giving her nicknames?

Max walked down the street and Quin frowned. "Make sure you're ready to go in, just in case.". She said to the two other officers in the van. Standard operating procedure dictated that they were both armed and wearing vests, but sometimes mental prep was just as important as physical. Grabbing her own well-worn vest, Quin willed the Kevlar out of the small holes she'd cut all over the garment and willed it up and under her shirt. It fit her better than the vest would have and covered all the same spots. Into the redhead's pockets went several handfuls of plastic poker chips. They weren't ideal, but they'd do in a fix. If the use of her powers made the other officers uncomfortable, they knew better than to say so. The tech guy would stay behind, but three trained cops would be enough.

A voice crackled through the wire and Quin took mental notes as Max gave the password and made his way deeper into the building. The longer it took for him to speak again, the more nervous Quin got. A long time quiet meant a deeper walk into the building. An elevator chimed, and the redhead stood. "I'm going in. Keep your radios on and be ready to follow if I call for backup." They listened. They knew better than to question orders from Detective Archer.

Down the street she went, hands casually stuffed into her pockets. At this point she was probably too old to pass for a kid wanting a fake, but she could ask for other things. Like a fake passport.

Approaching the door that Max had entered, and she knocked three times. The man behind the door asked for the password and she gave it. In she walked. Instructions were given, the same that Max had gotten and Quin started down the hall.

Holy shit the redhead whispered under her breath as she took the lay of the land, counting far too many goons in the rooms she passed.

The voice crackled through the mic again as she approached the elevator and Quin waited, hand going to sidearm strapped into her shoulder holster. Things were going to get ugly. Why hadn't she taken her horoscope to heart this morning? It had said that trying new things today would lead to disaster...she'd declined the tech guy's offer of sushi from a local gas station...hadn't that been new enough?

Up or down? Quin was alone on the bottom floor and Max was stuck upstairs. "Call for backup, don't come in until they get here. No lights or sirens." . It would take at least 10 minutes for all of that to happen. They needed time.

Pulling some of the chips from her pocket, Quin sent seemingly liquid plastic across the hall, pushing it through the cracks in the stairwell door, clogging the latch and the locking mechanism. Nobody would be opening that door without her help. Next came the controls to the elevator, those buttons weren't moving anywhere. If everything went smooth, Max would come down and she'd remove all the barriers, if not. Quin checked her side-arm again.

Things were probably going to get nasty.

The man was kneeling before Max. He was completing his pat down. Max had his hands on the bottom of his shirt. He had played "Save the Citizen" back in the Danger Room, now it was time to put that training to use.

His knee flew up and smacked the Man right under his chin. He let out a cry of surprise and pain as he fell back. Max let go of his shirt and grabbed the man by his jacket. With a burst of power he covered them both in a field of gravity aimed at his friends and the girl. He shoved the man and together they flew through the air towards his friends.

Max spun as they were flung forward. As they flew above the kneeling girl Max saw the two men trying to draw their guns. He changed gravity on the goon he was holding and doubled it. The man flew up and smacked into the ceiling above, pinned.

Max reasserted gravity on himself and his legs flung out in a split kick. His feet smacked into the necks of the men and he heard then shout. His hand reached out and he grabbed the girl kneeling in terror. He saw tears of fear spilling down her face. A new layer of gravity covered them and Max directed them towards the kitchen counter the last gang member was standing behind.

The girl let out a cry of terror. Max plummeted towards the kitchen. The man there had his gun out and was pulling it upward to take his shot. Max and the girl cleared the counter and he slammed into the man in a tackle. He dropped the girl, letting her land gently behind the counter with them and he and the goon grappled. Max found an opening and kicked the man. He dropped his gun and Max sent his power into the man sending him into the counter. His head smacked the counter and he fell limp.

Gunfire rang out and Max could feel the bullets smacking into the counter.

"Think think think." He shouted at himself.

An idea flung into his mind, a crazy and reckless idea. He poked his head out from the side and saw the men shooting, the man above struggling. Max grabbed the gun laying next to him. He released his power on the man and he fell down between his companions. Not enough to hurt him but it was a hell of distraction.

Max poked his head out and fired into the window on the opposing wall. The bullets pierced the glass sending massive crackes down it. He had just enough time to get the shots off before return gunfire rang out.

His heart was pounding, the girl beside him was sobbing. He reached over and grabbed the fold up table that was propped against the wall and held it. He looked at the girl.

"I know your terrified but I need you to trust me. I'm with the police. I'm gonna make a run for it. I will get you out of here I promise. Just stay behind the table and follow me." Max said.

She gave him a little nod, still shaking and Max prepared to make his move. If he didn't die trying this it was going to make a hell of a story.

Gunshots rang out and really...that made the decision for Quin. Business time.

"Shots fired!" Quin shouted into her radio to the accompaniment of falling chairs and flipped tables as the security goons on the first floor leapt to their feet. They knew what they were supposed to do in situations like this.

Quin could still hear Max talking through his wire, talking to someone else in the room. Detective Archer didn't know what the situation was upstairs (besides bad) but no more of the bad guys would be getting up there. "Hold position until backup arrives, then get in here."

It was time to play.

As footsteps rang out in the hallway of the old house Quin drew her trusty Sig from its shoulder holster. Feet planted shoulder-width apart, the redhead called out, "NYPD! Drop your weapons!" just as the first faces rounded the corner.

They were definitely armed. Guns raised, Quin Archer smiled and concentrated.

Almost simultaneously a tiny piece of plastic in the butts of all the guns the red headed detective could find melted, loosing the magazines they held in place. Startled curses followed that development and Quin reached out with her power again, freezing the chamber on all the guns she could find.

There.

Now the real fun could begin. There were 10, maybe a dozen men, angry now because they didn't have guns. "I repeat. Drop your weapons and get on your knees or I will be required to use lethal force!" .

Forward they came, and for a third time Quin reached out with her powers. This time she wasn't playing defense though, the poker chips she'd brought along rose from her pockets in a wave, melding together to form the equivalent of bean bag bullets. Deadly force was deadly, and surely one of these guys knew something about the higher-ups in the ring. Now that their cover was blown, they'd have to count on testimony.

Bad guys started to fall as the projectiles sailed forward. Maybe she couldn't take them all down, but it was a start.

It had been a minute since Quin had heard anything from Max...hopefully the kid was okay.

The gunmen were obviously just thugs. Max had been in practice sessions in CLASS where they went up against military trained bots. They would take turns firing, ensuring a constant hail of bullets. The tactic of waiting for your partner to empty his clip before firing was simple. These men were over zealous. The man beside Max started to stir and the young mutant slid the gun away from the kitchen for safety.

The sound he was waiting for finally came. He heard the clicking of the three men's guns. They needed to reload. He grabbed the girl's hand and ran, placing the table between him and the goons as a makeshift shield. He ran towards a desk and gave it a swift kick, sending his power into the desk. A shift in gravity sent the desk sliding across the room towards the window he had shot at.

The girl clung to him and he heard the gunshots resume as he sprinted behind the desk. Bullets shredded the corner of table and it was only by a miracle he wasn't hit. The desk smashed into the window and flew outside. Glass flew out into the open air and Max ran for the gap.

"Stop." The girl shouted.

Max didn't, instead he dropped the table and jumped out of the window. The girl screamed as they fell from the fifth floor. Max could see the van that he had exited. The plummeted towards the ground and Max used a quick burst of his power to stop their fall. He landed outside the building on his feet, the girl in his arms. The van doors burst open and he saw the officers staring at him in shock.

Quin wasn't there. That meant she had to be inside, trying to get to him. She could be fighting her way through the building now. He took a moment to debate what to do and he ran up the building. If she made it to the fifth floor she would find herself facing those thugs who are ready for her. He would take them out then head down.

He made it to the window he hand jumped out of just in time to see two of the goons look out. He grabbed them by the front of their shirts and pulled them up, propelling himself into room. Before he let go he lowered gravity on the men to half, a fall that would hurt but was nowhere near fatal.

The third goon stood a few steps ahead and looked at Max in horror. He dropped his gun and put his hands up.

"F**K this man." He said going onto his knees. Max ran over to the elvator and hit the call button. He needed to get to Quin.