Chapter 9: Off the Force

Anna browsed through the aisles of the supermarket. She had been so focused on her work that she had forgotten about restocking the supplies of food in her apartment. She had a good excuse to do it today, as it was her day off. She picked up a box of cereal and examined it with her keen detective eye. "Yeah, I'll need this." She then dropped the box into her trolley and kept moving through the aisles. Once she'd gotten everything she needed, she proceeded to the checkout, eager to get home to her comfy couch to watch some TV. She put all her items on the checkout as the shop assistant scanned them.

"Looks like someone's been a big shopper today," the assistant commented in a brassy New York accent. The assistant was a young woman the same age as Anna. She had short blonde hair in pigtails and noticeably pale complexion on her face, almost as if she were some sort of female clown.

"Well, I haven't been shopping in a while," Anna excused. "My job's been very stressful for me lately."

"It's okay, dear. I know exactly how that feels. Try working this job 24/7," the assistant replied in a rather humorous manner. "That'll be $27.99, please."

Anna took out her credit card and slid it into the reader, typing her PIN number in.

The assistant smiled and packed the bags for Anna. "Have a nice day!"

"Thanks," Anna responded.

Anna then walked over to her car, packing up the shopping in the trunk. As she packed the last bag in, she heard the alarms go off in the supermarket.

"What the hell?" she said out loud.

Anna then saw a figure run out of the store, being chased by two security guards.

"Stop right there!" One of the guards exclaimed.

Anna then noticed what the figure was wearing. It was a dark hoodie-just like the one the killer wore the night Chloe Price was murdered. This figure might be the White Rose Killer. Anna growled angrily and charged after the figure, jumping on top of him as he tried to leave the parking lot. "You're under arrest, motherfucker!" Anna snarled as she forced herself upon him.

"Let me go!" The figure cried back as he was crushed under Anna's weight. "Please!"

"Like fuck I am, you son of a bitch!" Anna growled. She turned the figure over and began to pummel them with her bare hands. "That's for Miss Price! That's for Belle Andrews! And this is for me!"

"Stop! Stop! I'm no killer!" the figure screamed as Anna beat him. "I only stole this to support my family!"

Anna stopped her assault to see the figure quivering in fear. He was a young man a little younger than her, but his face was now covered in bruises from Anna's fists, marks on the side of his jaw and blood dripping from his mouth where teeth had been knocked out. He was breathing very weakly due to Anna having jabbed his throat. Anna covered her mouth. This man wasn't the killer; she had just beat an innocent man to near death.

"Oh, fuck me," she sighed in anger.

She looked around to see a small crowd had gathered around her, shocked to see that one of their city's finest had committed such a violent act.

xXx

"What the fuck were you doing, Anna?!" Chief McCallister demanded, slamming his fist on his desk. "Stopping a shoplifting is one thing, but beating the shit out of the perp because you think he MIGHT be someone else is another!"

"I didn't realise at the time, sir," Anna said. "My emotions got the better of me."

"Well, if you can't keep your emotions under control, then you have no business being a police officer!" he shouted. He then paused for a moment, taking a breath and sitting down. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"No," Anna said softly. "You're right, Uncle David. I deserve to be thrown out of the force. This damn case has gotten me so damn worked up that I'm a liability."

He shook his head. "No. Anna, you're one of my best officers. Besides, I know how much this job means to you. That said, I can't ignore what you've done. You're not off the force…but you are off the case."

"Then I'll hand in my resignation now," Anna replied. "I'm sorry, sir, but this is for the best. I'm not fit for the force anymore."

David sighed. "Anna…are you sure this is what you want?"

Anna looked at him and sighed as well. "I don't know. But I don't want this right now. I'll probably come back, but until I'm able to, I request to be put on leave."

"Okay. Unpaid administrative leave." David looked at her. "For what it's worth…your dad would be proud of how you're handling this."

"Would he? Dad never beat the crap out of an innocent man and nearly killed him. I did."

"Maybe. But you're doing the right thing. You understand that you made a mistake, and you're facing the consequences head-on."

"I guess so." Anna smiled. "See you soon, Uncle David."

He held out his hand. "I hate to say this, but until you come back…you don't get to keep your badge."

Anna pulled the badge off and gave it to him.

"Just remember: I may not be your boss right now, but I'm still your friend."

"I can live with that," Anna replied. "I'm gonna go say goodbye to Kristoff, if that's okay."

David nodded in approval. "Go ahead, Anna."

Anna went off to find Kristoff. She would find him sitting at his desk, looking over the paperwork for the White Rose case.

"Kristoff?" Anna called to him softly as she stood next to his desk

He looked up at her. "Hey, Anna. What's up?"

"Have you heard? I'm leaving the force for a while."

"Oh, yeah. It's all over the internet. Reckon it'll be on the news tonight too."

Anna sighed. "You know I didn't mean it, right?"

He nodded. "The problem is, they don't. They just see a police woman who went nuts over a random guy."

"I know," Anna sighed as looked at him. "I didn't want to tell you this right now, but I might never get the chance." She then gulped. "Kristoff, I've made my decision."

"Decision? About what?"

"About you and Elsa."

His expression fell. "Oh. You chose her, huh?"

Anna nodded. "I'm going to ask her to marry me the day after tomorrow."

Kristoff sighed. "Anna, how long have you even known her?"

"Two or three weeks now," Anna answered. "But she's just so perfect for me, Kristoff. I know you are too, but you're perfect as a friend."

"I…I understand," He placed his hand on his forehead. "It just feels weird, you going off with someone you pretty much just met."

"But I've known her for a while now, so it isn't like that," Anna told him. "If it helps, we'll be sure to invite you to the wedding. You can be the best man, or be the one to give me away."

"All right." Kristoff accepted.

Anna gave him a goodbye hug. "I'm sorry It has to be like this."

He hugged back. "I'm gonna miss you, Anna. Can…can I kiss you one last time?"

Anna chuckled. "Sure. I suppose I can let you have that."

Kristoff gently kissed Anna's lips.

Anna kissed back softly, but soon pulled away "I….guess this is goodbye, then."

He nodded. "Yeah. Just know that I'm always here if you need me."

"Thank you, Kristoff," Anna told him. With that, she took her leave, heading home from what might have been her final day on the force.

xXx

Author's note: Aww man, what a bad thing to happen to Anna. Things will get a bit better for her, but they'll probably go back down again...

Anyway, see ya next time! ^^