Brenda peered over Buzz's shoulder in the media room of Major Crimes, watching the surveillance footage from outside Judy Lynch's apartment. It seemed they'd gotten lucky, and gotten 'Dreamweaver' on tape, just not his face. She was watching as he stood in front of his Camaro, when Chief Pope poked his head into the room.
"Brenda? Can I have a word?" He asked, in a tone that belied the question mark.
Brenda sighed, and took her glasses off, before stalking over to him, and pulling the door shut behind her.
"You are scheduled for your final interview with the mayor tomorrow. What exactly, are you doing?" He snapped.
"I caught a murder this morning. I am doing my job. I still have plenty of time to prepare!" Brenda replied, resisting the urge to snap.
"You have a day. A day, which you seem determined to spend solving this murder. You've almost got the guy. Let Commander Taylor take it from here." Pope turned, and started to walk away.
Brenda heaved a sigh, staring after him, knowing she was supposed to follow, but she just couldn't make her feet move. She'd submitted the application in a temper fit. She loved her job. She loved solving crimes. Being out in the field. Sitting behind a desk, pushing papers would kill her. Though, it might make Fritz happy, not that that mattered anymore. She'd called him a few weeks back, when the weight of the loneliness got to be too much to bear. He'd been in Washington, fortunately, and their short conversation ended on a sour note when she heard a woman's voice in the background. Rationally, she knew it shouldn't bother her. Logically, she knew that they were over, and that she was reaching out for the familiar, instead of what she really wanted. Still, it rankled that he'd moved on so quickly, despite everything.
"Brenda? What's wrong?" Pope's voice cut into her reverie.
"What if I don't want to be chief?" She asked quietly.
"I don't even…come with me." Pope took her arm, and marched her down the hall to his office.
Pushing open the door, he placed his hand on the small of Brenda's back, and propelled her into the office ahead of him. She stopped short at the sight of Sharon Raydor standing near the window.
"Oh! Captain Raydor!" she exclaimed.
"Chief, thanks for making the time." Sharon replied, a tight smile on her face.
"Well, let's hope we're not wasting it." Brenda answered sharply.
"It seems we've been wasting Captain Raydor's time, as she's spent the last few weeks coming up with practice questions so you can be prepared for the interview." Pope huffed, moving to stand behind his desk. "So when you say you're not interested in the job, it's very disappointing."
Brenda could see Sharon nodding out of the corner of her eye, and felt the anger boiling up inside. She directed her wrath at the handiest target.
"Didn't you tell me yourself that I had no real chance at being Chief?" she reminded him of the conversation they'd had after she submitted the application.
Sharon looked stunned.
"Didn't you say you were just 'permitting me to submit an application—" she continued, as both Pope and Raydor began to speak.
"Excuse me? Permission?" Raydor said incredulously.
"Look I—" Pope began.
"PERMISSION?" Sharon said, her voice rising.
"That's not—that's not what I said"
"Yes you did! You said you'd let me apply as some sort of stalking horse!" Brenda was caught up in the heady awareness that the Captain was outraged on her behalf. She watched as Sharon drew herself up to her full height, peering at Will over her glasses.
"You did not!" Sharon glared at Pope, crossing her arms.
"Look, I did not give her permission." He cleared his throat, and sat down, smoothing his tie nervously. "I think we can all agree that there were some flaws in my campaign to be chief. For one thing, I'm no longer in the running." He leaned forward, tenting his elbows on the desk.
Sharon sat down, and Brenda could feel her gaze, but she kept her eyes on the scuff on the corner of the desk in front of her, refusing to give in to the urge to make eye contact.
"But it is now in my best interest, " Pope continued, "in all of our best interests, that the Mayor appoint you as our next boss. And if you just quit now—"
"People will think you're hiding something." Commander Taylor interjected.
Brenda jumped, turning in her seat. She'd been so startled by the Captain's presence, she hadn't even noticed the Commander leaning against the conference table.
"Or worse, they'll think you're a flake." Sharon's voice was low, and smooth, and still shot heat straight to Brenda's center. "Or like you broke under pressure. Whatever you do, you can't cancel this meeting. And you can't reschedule." She turned in her seat, facing Brenda, their knees almost touching.
"You'd know all about breaking under pressure." Brenda muttered, so low that only Sharon heard.
"Because when the Mayor calls for a meeting with his chief, he expects him—or her—to show up." Pope explained.
"Well, when people are smothered to death in their homes, they expect me to show up too!" Brenda replied hotly.
"Look, I don't know what it was like in Atlanta, honey, but when you apply for chief of police in Los Angeles, and you don't get the job, there are big consequences." Sharon knew that the endearment would come off as sarcastic to Pope and Taylor, but she pressed her knee against Brenda's to let her know that she was still on her side.
"Yeah, starting with me getting fired." Pope pouted, leaning back in his chair.
"You don't know that." Brenda said gently, before shifting her legs to the other side of the chair, away from the addictive heat of Sharon's skin.
"And then every success he's had will be dismantled, " Taylor cut in smoothly, "starting with, oh, say, Major Crimes."
"Chief, if you don't at least attend this final interview, the women of the LAPD will be completely demoralized," Sharon kept her voice low, as Brenda turned to look at her for the first time since she'd entered the room, "and some of them may never forgive you. Ever." Her brow arched, driving her point home.
Brenda glanced around the room, to avoid looking at the Captain any longer.
"Well, can't I just skip the whole prep part? Can't I just go to the interview tomorrow, and, you know, be myself?" She asked desperately.
"That's a terrible idea." Sharon replied immediately, knowing that if Pope agreed, she'd never get any alone time with Brenda. And she knew that they needed to talk, if only so that Brenda wouldn't throw this opportunity away.
Just then, Detective Gabriel entered the room, and explained that they'd found out that Dreamweaver was due to have another date that very afternoon. Sharon held back a smile as Brenda grudgingly turned over the reign of the investigation to Commander Taylor. Gabriel and Taylor left the room, and Brenda spun on her heel, facing Pope and Raydor.
"Fine. Fine. I'll be in my office, once you two finish creating my persona."