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This was a bad idea. I thought as I opened the door. I knew it was a bad idea. I'd known the moment I parked and told myself

I shouldn't be doing this.

I just couldn't help myself.

I sighed as the smell of cinnamon waifed over me. Maple, orange, blueberries. The scents mixed and danced together, all of them wonderful, all of them sweet.

"Good morning, Mister Brislow," the young raccoon at the counter greeted me.

"Good morning Denise. What wonderful flavor cruller has tour father baked today." Andre's crullers were amazing, airy and flaky. I've always loved the twisted donut, but until I had one of Bertrand, I hadn't realized just how good they could be.

His were like an expensive croissant made with sugar.

"We have plain and strawberry, our usuals. We also have maple, kiwi, and coffee."

"I'll have a kiwi, with a coffee, vanilla creamer."

The bakery moved in a month after I did, and the smell of baking sugar had drawn me in. Back when I'd been a cop, it had been my ritual to stop by a bakery on the way to the precinct, get a dozen and distribute them around.

Until I stepped in here for the first time I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it. It had been difficult to only buy one cruller that firs time, I'd been itching to get my usual dozen various donuts.

I'd prevailed, but it wasn't long that I was stopping by multiple times a day. Sometime, like now, I stopped in just because I happen to be walking by. It really didn't help the only place I could park my car in the area, a city parking structure two blocks east meant I passed the bakery any time I used it. I had to get better control of myself, this was my fourth cruller today.

I'd just have to run an extra mile tomorrow morning, I promised myself as I paid. My office was at the other end of the block, I'd finished my donut and was through half my coffee by the time I reached my door.

I saw the Fox coming up the other block an cursed. Even if I hadn't recognized him, I would have recognized the walk. we all adopted it from years of walking our beat, and a cop coming to see me was not something I looked forward these days. that they'd sent Flint this time made it worse. He didn't like me at all, and with good reason.

He'd caught me in preparation to have sex with a guy we

knew, another cop, in the precinct's locker room. Not that he'd liked me before that, but the way me and Matt had been about to disrespect the establishment, as he'd said, made sure I wouldn't get any Christmas cards from him.

I thought about locking the door, but he'd just pound on it and I'd have to come open it. I only had a few minutes of quiet, sitting behind my desk, finishing my coffee, before the chimes rang again and he walked down the steps.

Detective Kevin Flint was a good looking guy. Tall and lean he dressed in jeans, shirts and usually wore a sport jacket, although he'd taken out his insulated one today against he fall weather. He looked around, examining the bare walls at that end of the office the way all detective looked at a room, like we knew a crime had been committed in it, and all we had to do was look hard enough and we're find the proof.

"So," I said, when he was at the half way point. "You're my monthly harassment call."

Flint looked at me, "What are you talking about?" His eyes flicked up, to study the book case behind me. I still had to put away those books.

"That's why you're here, right? To remind me I was a shame to the department, a stain on your badge. To make my life miserable."

He reached my desk, looked at the chair next to him, but remained standing. "I have no idea what you're talking about." he crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm here to get some answered."

"What about?"

"Cut the crap Brislow. I want to know what the fuck is going on with you getting framed?"

I controlled my reaction. "You think I was framed?"

"Of course you were. I hate that you'll fuck any guy who'll let you, but you were a good cop. You'd never take money from the mob."

Could he really not know?

"So you're here," I tapped the surface of my desk, brining up the clock and calender and looked at it carefully, for effect. "six months later, to get answers? You didn't think to ask your partner during any of that time?"

"What does Reilly have to do with any of this?"

Only that he and Alice were church, and that Alice was the one who'd framed me, and that Reilly had been there each time Alice tried to apprehend me. Was it possible he wasn't involved?

Flint hadn't been there any of those times."

"Why wait all this time? If you had questions for me, why not ask them when it all went down?"

"You're kidding, right? You walk in the precinct weeks after we all think you've died. I.A. calls you to the captain's office like they knew you'd be there. When you walked out you made a straight line for the exit. I didn't even find out you quit until two days later. I though you'd been suspended for a while."

Right, quit. It wasn't quitting when someone help a metaphorical gun to my head.

"So you found out a few days later. that was still six months ago. That's a long time to wait to get answers."

"Damn it Brislow, I was waiting for you to come to me."

"Me? Come to you?"

"Of course. We're friends."

I stared at him, then burst out laughing. "You're joking, right?" I asked between laugh. I sobered a little at his confused expression. "You and Reilly couldn't stand me before this went down."

"I couldn't stand how you disrespected the badge by fucking all over the precinct, like it was your own personal sex club."

My ears burned at the accusation. He was right, He'd made it clear when he caught me with Matt that he knew it hadn't been an isolated incident. After that I'd told myself I was done having sex there. Flint had been right the Precinct deserved more respect, but then Damian happened, and the next time I'd set foot in the precinct would be to get kicked out.

"At least you know that was wrong," Flint said. "I don't know what Reilly's problem is with you, He never said, but Alice was your partner. We all know you're a good cop. Why didn't you come to us? we would have had your back. You didn't have to slink off in the night and setup shop in this place."

I wished I had Marcus' ability to read people. I could read a perp well enough, and I could get a sense of what some people felt, but I couldn't read Flint. He acted like this made no sense to him, but he was Reilly's partner. Could he really be in the dark about the church and the Factions?

"You do remember it was Cooper that brought the evidence that for me canned, right?"

"of course she found it. A blind kid could have found it, it was that obvious of a frame job. But what was she supposed to do, hide it? she's a cop, she had to bring it to Sherman, and he had to call I.A.. You knew you were being frames, why didn't you fight it? Sherman would have stood up for you. He would've wanted to see you clear your name. Why did you just hand in your badge?"

Sherman standing up for me? I wished Flint had been there to see what kind of man the captain had turned out to be. I wanted to scream it all to him right then, but I held my anger in check.

"How do you know the evident was wouldn't have survived an investigation?" The bishop of 'I don't remembere where' had made it clear that if I fought them, tried to make things difficult, the evidence Alice had planted would be so damning that even malls wouldn't dare hire me.

"I've looked into it. I'm telling you, whoever did it

didn't even try."

That made no sense. Alice might have done a poor piss job, she'd been in a hurry, but the church wouldn't have left it lake that. Unless that was the point? make it look like an easy win for me so that when I jumped at it they could slap me down so hard they'd hear it on the other side of the world?

That hadn't worked. I'd only now started sending out feelers to my old contacts and none of them had gotten back to me yet. Now I knew to be careful of what they reported.

I was going to get my job back. I didn't care how long it was going to take, or that the church would try to stop me. I was a cop, helping people was what I was born to do.

I thought about asking Flint for help, he was clearly willing, but the church wouldn't be kind to him. Even if they didn't think he was working for me, and I was pretty sure they throught any street lamp shining light on how they'd screw me over worked for me, they'd destroy him. I didn't like him, but he was a good cop, and honest one. The force didn't have enough of those, they couldn't lose him.

"Drop it, Flint. I've made my peace with it."

"You don't make peace with a fame job, you fight it, as hard as you can."

"I don't care that I was framed. I'm telling you, Flint, walk away form this, and get yourself a new partner."

The Fox frowned. "Why would I want to do that? DO you know something about Reilly? do you think he's involved in this, somehow?"

"I'm not saying that." I couldn't have him go and accuse Reilly directly, that would be a death sentence. "I'm just saying it might be best for you if you have a different partner."

Flint was frowning. "No, he wouldn't do this," he mumbled.

I could hear the gears grinding. I should have kept my mouth shut. Now he was going to worry at it and get himself in trouble. I could only hope he'd come to his senses and drop this.

"Look, Flint, don't you have your own job to do? Running around and catching bad guys?"

"Yeah, yeah," he replied, not looking at me, and a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Shouldn't you get going then?" "Sure." He didn't move.

"Flint!"

"What?" he startled.

"I have work to do. How about you go do yours?"

"Oh, yeah, right." He turned. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

"I'm telling you to drop it." He didn't respond.

Great.

For his sake I hoped the criminal element went on overdrive. If he poked at this hornet's nest it wouldn't take long for them to notice. Hell, Cooper's desk was next to Flint's. it wouldn't take much for her to notice something.