Fleur Di Lis

Chapter Five

I had barely gotten through the double doors of the homicide unit of the NYPD  when I heard my name being boomed out from the mouth of Captain Robert Mulhaney, who was chatting with two tough suits, their jackets bulging from the hardware they had holstered underneath. 

"Oh, shit," Rik muttered.  "The Feds."

"Shh."

"Detectives," the captain, a man in his late fifties, a Father Christmas demeanour, and one doughnut away from a heart attack, gestured to us in a jovial manner.  "This is Agent Fuller and Jones of the FBI..."

The two men nodded to us in acknowledgement. 

"They're gonna be taking over the Dana Kirke case," the Captain finished.

"What?!"  I exclaimed in disbelief, all niceties wiped away from my mind.  Beside me, Rik's face fell.  Anger rose within me, and I shook my head.  "No."

"Detective, I appreciate that you and Detective Donavan have worked hard on this, but the Federal Bureau of Investigations believe it's time they take over and thank you for your cooperation."

I scoffed.  I couldn't believe this.  "No fuckin way, Cap, I've been working too hard on this.  I've worked my ass off on this damn case, and I'm not gonna stand by and let it get taken away from me by a bunch of jumped up asshole Feds who don't know shit!"

"Don't worry, Detective," the fed on the left -- Fuller?  Jones?  I didn't know; these assholes all look the same: high on steroids and testosterone -- sneered at me.  "We'll get up at two, just to pick up where you left off.  Maybe even give you something in return, how's that sound?"

"Oh, yeah?"  I smiled sweetly at him, stepped forward and brought my knee swiftly up to connect with his groin.  "Pick up on that, dickhead!"

He doubled over in pain, and I was ready to put him to the floor when Rik grabbed me and hauled me away, kicking and cursing, into the empty canteen.

"Get the fuck off me, Rik!"  I wrenched myself away from his grip and started to make my way towards the exit when Rik grabbed me by the arms and swung me around.

"D'you wanna get suspended?"  He demanded, shaking me hard.  "Snap the fuck out of it, Nik."

"Alright.  Alright!"  I pushed him off.  "I get it."

"You're lucky you didn't get fired.  The cap' wasn't too impressed by that little stunt back there and if I didn't step in..."

"If you didn't step in I would've finished him!"

"Which isn't a good idea if you wanna keep your badge."

I sighed heavily.  He had a point.  "Yeah, well I wasn't too impressed by that little stunt he pulled.  What the hell is he playing at, giving those assholes the reigns on a case I've been working on since it started?"

"It wasn't just your case," he muttered, letting me go and folding his arms.

Realisation dawned, and I let out a sigh.  Amidst all my anger, I hadn't given a second as to how Rik must be feeling.  He'd been there every step of the way; right from when we got assigned to the case.  Okay, I may have been less than happy about Rik being my partner, but four weeks of late nights and staying over can change a lot.

I'm such an asshole.

"Shit.  I'm sorry, Rik."