Bella Donna

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Heather entered the precinct lockers for her midday shift and deposited her duffle bag into her space before shutting the locker door. The hinges creaked while she grimaced.

"Hi," A voice said which startled her out of her thoughts.

"Uhm, hi..." Heather replied as she looked to her left to see the new hire from yesterday greeting her. "I didn't see you there,"

"Don't worry. I'm used to being invisible," the new detective joked.

"You made quite the impression yesterday though Detective Johnson," She looked the woman up and down noting that she had no uniform on but instead sported a hoodie and jeans.

"Mala, please," she corrected.

"Heather," The other introduced. "I'm Patrol,"

"Vice," Mala stated. Heather hummed as the clothes now made sense.

"Ah, I was wondering where you'd be placed,"

"Not my first choice. I used to work homicide in LA," The other woman shrugged while bending down to tie one of her shoelaces.

"What brings you all the way to Berk?" Heather then asked curiously. LA was definitely bigger than Berk. It struck her as odd that a Homicide detective would give up life in a city where she could get a promotion much easier.

"You know, this and that. Things just didn't work out in LA. I decided to transfer." Mala just shrugged. "Figured I try my luck up north.

"I know this and that," Heather nodded. "It's nice to see another female. I'm getting tired of the others avoiding me like a plague,"

"How come?" the other questioned.

"It's a long story. You'll probably hear about some of it when your colleagues tell you to avoid me,"

"I like to judge a person's character for myself," Mala quipped.

"I'm not getting my hopes up just yet. You'll see soon enough," Heather remarked with a raised brow. "Word of advice, keep your head down in this town."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just a piece of advice!" Heather stated. "I don't know how you did it in LA but here the only person you watch out for is yourself."

"This town can grow on you but it can also drag you down into its filthy underbelly,"

"That sounds like a line out of a Noir film," Mala remarked.

"Think what you like," Heather said as she turned towards the door to leave the locker room and to get on with her shift. "If you don't want to believe me that's fine but don't say I didn't tell you so,"

As Heather stepped out of the locker room, leaving the new detective with more questions than answers, she could feel the stares of her colleagues as she made her way to the briefing meeting. It had been two years now and still, her colleagues held a grudge, but what was she to expect in this godforsaken city? It screwed her over more than once.

She kept her head high as she walked into the briefing room. With a nod to her Sergeant, she then took a seat in the back while waiting for the meeting to start.

Meanwhile, Astrid was being fed premium meat from the charcuterie board Hiccup had prepared. They were snuggling together on a plaid cloth, a picnic basket to the side, and two half-filled wine glasses in between them. Damian had wolfed down one of the Caprese sandwiches before going to play in the playground that overlooked the hill Hiccup and Astrid had settled upon.