Felix knew something was wrong as soon as he saw Anna that morning. He had come in early to make up for leaving her to tie up the case the night before, but still she gazed at him with a distinctly resentful stare. She carried herself gracefully, though, and accepted his apology, so he thought the storm had passed.

He had never been so wrong.

Benoit had spent the night at the prefecture and was to give his statement this morning. He admitted to all of his crimes in a dejected voice, made no requests for trial or lawyer, and only asked to see his grandmother before being locked back up.

Unfortunately, the matter wasn't so simple. The Prefecture needed information on the gang that Benoit and Germaine had been associated with, and in the two men they had valuable informants. They were offered shorter sentences and witness protection for any tips they could offer, but both former friends still refused.

Anna ran a hand through her short brown hair, sighing heavily. It was past lunchtime, and neither man had budged. Felix took over and used his smarts to his advantage, nudging them towards spilling what they knew. When that didn't work, he played a game of mental chess with Benoit, but when he got to checkmate, the robber became furious and violent, requiring several officers to detain him.

Felix checked the Ladyblog on the way to the next room. No sightings of Ladybug and Chat Noir yet today. Good. Adrien needed his rest.

He stepped into Germaine's room. Dropping into his seat with a satisfied grin, he lied to the man: "Benoit gave in. He said that it's you who is threatening him. Is this true?"

Germaine was understandably flummoxed. "Why would he say that? I've done nothing of the sort! Let me talk to him. Bastard! I should never have called him friend."

Felix's grin widened. Germaine was walking right into his trap. "Oh but on the contrary—Benoit said that you are very close to the higher-ups. They sent you to ensure that he doesn't talk."

"That's ridiculous! I left that gang five years ago!"

Felix mentally checked off in his head: Question one, answered.

"Hmm," Felix pressed. "Then I wonder where Benoit got that idea. Perhaps he really is being threatened?"

Germaine sat back. "If he is, it's not me. The only guy I can think of is Font du Lac—" he froze mid-speech, realizing what he had said. He paled as Felix stood and gathered his files.

"That will be all, thank you. We assure you that you will be given the utmost protection."

Question two: answered.

Now, Felix finally had some results to show Anna.

By evening, this new information was forwarded to the organized crimes unit, and the team of two was left with a hefty stack of paperwork to turn in by the end of the day. Anna set to it silently as Felix pinched his nose to keep himself awake. He had been up most the night with Adrien, and the lack of sleep, coupled with jet lag, was getting to him. It was not going to prevent him from finishing this paperwork, though; he had left Anna alone on this case too many times.

The section chief approached their desk and tapped on it lightly. "M. Agreste?" he began. "May I speak to you in my office?"

With an apologetic glance to Anna, Felix obeyed.

Everything went downhill from there.

Chief Roger informed Felix that he had been watching the interrogation, and was thoroughly impressed. What's more, the chief had seen his newly hired detective on the news the previous night, jumping into the battle with the akuma. Felix didn't mind the praise, but his superior spent a good hour saying something that he could have summed up in five minutes. Not wanting to lose his job though, he endured silently.

What hit hard was Chief Roger's closing words.

"In light of your performance on this case, I'll be assigning you a long-term partner. Anna is just temporary, while you get used to things... The truth is, she'll be retiring soon. We've been holding on to her because she has five kids to support on her own, and three are at university, but she is getting tired. I'm considering moving her to a more clerical position."

Finally granted the opportunity to speak up, Felix countered: "Actually, Anna shouldered most of the work on this case. She was pursuing Benoit long before I got here; and while we were investigating, she let me leave early to attend to family matters. If anyone deserves praise for this case, it's her... With all due respect."

Chief Roger considered this with a harrumph. "Hard work and commitment is admirable, and necessary, for this job. But so are results. Anna had her days, in her youth, when her efforts were fruitful."

Felix frowned, saddened by this cynical outlook. But he made no argument, thinking that he needed to get back to help Anna. So he said: "I understand perfectly well."

And when he turned to leave, a pale-faced Anna stood in the doorway. She held the pile of paperwork in her arms and strode forward with purpose, slamming the stack down on the chief's desk. "It just needs your approval," she said through her teeth.

Felix frowned. "Is there anything...?"

"It's all done," she snapped, and then stormed out of the room.

Knowing that he had messed up grandly, Felix followed his partner back to her desk. She was putting on her coat and strapping on her purse when her knees suddenly buckled and she sat heavily on the ground. Felix rushed forward to check on her, but a bright purple light threw him back. Then, Anna conversed briefly with a voice only she could hear, before standing and turning on her partner.

As she turned, magic swirled around her, transforming her appearance. Her usually dark skin took on a ghastly pale hue, and her clothes faded into inky black tendrils. A blinding lamp formed at the back of her neck, bending to shine light over her face, painting her features in shadow. She held a clipboard in one hand, to which several sheets of blank paper were attached, fluttering in the magical wind.

She grinned wide with pointed teeth, and cocked her head at Felix. "I do all the work and you get all the praise, huh?" she said in a rumbling voice that sounded like it came from a being as large as the Earth. "Well, you're out of luck, because Anna is gone now."

She spread her arms wide, a triumphant gleam in her eye. "I AM INTERROGATOR, AND I WILL UNCOVER YOUR SECRETS!"