Chapter 8

Blaze had continued to work at the precinct well into the New Year. She had tried her best to keep her recent revelation to Adam a secret for as long as it was possible. The truth was though, Blaze had come to despise the place she was working in and could start to see why he had decided to leave. To top that off, life was getting more and more difficult. Blaze had lost all of the drive and motivation to do the things she once loved. Dancing and Judo had taken a backseat and her reason for work had become solely for the money in order to support herself and her baby on the way in 5 months time.

Since the fall of the Syndicate and the death of Mr X, everybody had expected Wood Oak City to automatically become a better place. They had believed that eradicating the Syndicate and its leader would make the streets safe again. But the truth was that violent crime lower down in their hierarchy had surged. Where one criminal thug was arrested, another underground punk would quietly take their spot. The most deprived areas of the city were the ones that suffered and they had become poorer. Just because the Syndicate were dead, it never meant that the police or Government had found solutions to the city's deep rooted issues.

Gang war was in fact on the up and criminals were swooping in fast to get their foot into Wood Oak's drug market. The blues at the precinct and their leaders had relaxed for far too long when they should have seen this coming.

Commissioner Bernstein stood by his desk with a mug of coffee in one hand. The tall, 6ft 3 boss in his 50s was as fit as a thirty year old. He was hench in appearance with grey hair, thick eyebrows and a heavy moustache. He finished his beverage then stood by the window, glancing out towards the city with his hands on his hips. Bernstein repeatedly tugged at the black tie and suspenders over his white shirt as he started to grow more and more impatient.

"Sorry I'm late Sir," Blaze hastily ran through the door of his office. She came in whilst tying her long brown hair back, clearly flustered and appearing tired. She then reached for the chair opposite him, barely giving him any of her eye contact.

He also sat down and wasted no time in briefing her.

"Hmmm, don't ever be late again Fielding, it's careless of you.….I suppose you're wondering why I called you in then?"

"I'm not sure Sir," Blaze stared down at the desk as she waited for him to continue.

"As you are aware, your old partner Hunter transferred from this place three weeks ago, despite the fact that we offered him a bonus," the Commissioner muttered under his breath with agitation in his voice. "Adam was our best officer and the two of you made a great partnership!"

Blaze couldn't help but roll her eyes. Bernstein would never have admitted that a woman was in fact the best detective they had and his expectations of her never quite matched up to the Saint and perfection that was Adam Hunter.

"Yeah, Hunter was a real asset to this place," she smiled, biting her tongue as she fed into Bernstein's ego.

"And as you also know, that waste of space Stone has also been gone for over three months now without a word…." As if Blaze needed another reminder.

She was fully aware that the Commissioner had it in for Axel. He despised the man, who had always been the most rogue out of their trio. Axel took risks that were often based on hunches with cases. But on many occasions, those risks paid off and he had busted some major cases during his career here. Bernstein hated being proven wrong and Axel relished in undermining his boss whenever he had the chance. The guy was too unpredictable and too much for the Commissioner to handle.

Whilst Bernstein favoured Adam out of their trio, Blaze was always the one trying to prove herself to him and had worked the hardest. Adam could do no wrong in his eyes, but she was starting to care less and less about keeping up appearances.

He continued, "so this means that Axel's old partner, Tim, needs someone new to pair up with in the department. Therefore it made sense that since Hunter is no longer an employee here, that Tim Murphy will pair up with you from now on out on the field.

"Ok," Blaze quietly nodded. Her and Tim had never worked closely together before, but Axel had spoken highly of him. She knew that he and Axel got along as partners for years in the department. Tim could also fight, he knew the ropes and was a hard worker. Plus Murphy had always been there for the group as back up when they started going vigilante on the streets. The scenario could have been much worse than this according to Blaze.

During the last month, the Commissioner hired a brand new cohort of officers. They were rude and heavy handed towards those in their custody. They had no boundaries and their answer to any threat was to reach for the taser. This morning Blaze had dreaded the thought of being partnered up with one of the new officers such as Barney or Feroccio, so having Tim as her new partner was a good outcome.

Right after the Commissioner had finished his sentence, Murphy bounced through the door with a spring in his step. Blaze raised one eyebrow then folded her arms at Bernstein when he turned a blind eye to Tim's punctuality, yet he had made a dig at her almost five minutes ago for being late.

"Good morning Commissioner, Blaze" Tim nodded as he sat down next to her.

"So I am giving you your first assignment today as partners. Word has it that a local Art dealer uptown is responsible for kicking off the Syndicate's drug trade once again. Gather up as much evidence as you can and find out who is leading the operation. You both know what you need to do and it should be relatively straightforward without any hiccups". Once Bernstein had briefed them, he expected the pair to immediately leave.

"Sir, there was something I needed to talk to you about…" Blaze requested as she stood up.

"Just get along with your job for once. This is your last straw, Fielding. If you fuck this up, your out!" He rudely answered, shewing her away.

"But it's important," Blaze insisted.

"What is it?" He asked her with a brash tone.

"I need an advance on my paycheque, just for this month…" she sighed, slightly embarrassed. But it was worth a try.

The Commissioner comfortably leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head as he started to laugh at her.

"You got some nerve Fielding!" He shook his head with a grin.

"I'm just asking for an advance, that's all…" Blaze shrugged.

"Well maybe if you had utilised your overtime a little better and stopped chasing after bad boys, your bank account would look much prettier than it does now don'tcha think?"

At that moment, Blaze wanted to either punch him or sink into the ground. The whole precinct had known what was going on between her and Axel and they loved the gossip.

"Forget it," Blaze huffed, annoyed.

"Maybe you could take this opportunity to enlighten us then on where Stone left to? You were the last person who saw him weren't you? I'm sure his old work partner here is curious too…"

"Sir, that won't be necessary," Tim awkwardly shook his head, uncomfortable with being stuck in the middle of Blaze's dispute.

"That's personal Sir," she argued.

"Not in this office it ain't! It's such a shame, I had high hopes for you but you wasted your talent when you disregarded your job for him, Fielding. This is your last shot, and as I said, if you fuck this case up you're fired! Understood?"

"Loud and clear," she sighed without argument.

"There it is!" Blaze tampered with her binoculars from the driver's side of the police car. "I'd say let's just go in, what's the worst that could happen?" She carefully observed the entrance to 'Wood Oak Venom Art Gallery'.

"We don't even have a warrant," Tim shook his head on the passenger side. Both of them were undercover and dressed in plain clothes.

"And?" Blaze raised an eyebrow. "Don't pretend you've always stuck to the rules, Murphy. I remember you coming to the aid of three vigilantes, even when your boss ordered you not to help us."

"That was a long time ago," Tim smirked, reminiscing about the excitement he once had in firing rockets at old Syndicate punks.

"Look, we both know that Bernstein will blame me if I'm wrong about this, but I know I'm not!" Blaze began to step out of the car.

The bells on the front door dinged as soon as they walked through the entrance to the shop. At first, everything appeared as normal as expected and the vintage store floor was light and airy with many paintings and unique sculptures scattered about. Blaze placed one hand on the sculpture of a large white eagle she had found fascinating.

"Can I help you?" The gallery owner was a tall, trendy woman of African American descent. She had short red hair that was partitioned to one side and deep green eyes. She was wearing tight black jeans and high red heels that made noise on the wooden floor everytime she stepped.

"It's a nice place you got here," Tim answered.

"Are you looking for something in particular?" Diva smiled as she cocked her head to one side.

"Just browsing,'" Blaze casually continued to walk around whilst scanning the area for anything suspicious or out of place.

The owner of this art boutique had never been on the police radar before. To them, this lady Diva had no affiliation with the former Syndicate and nothing so far seemed to indicate that drugs or money laundering was being carried out on these premises.

Suddenly, a portrait of a butterfly for some reason had caught Blaze's eye. "Hey, how much is this?" She asked.

"That one will set you back $400" Diva placed her hands in her back pockets.

Blaze half hardheartedly smiled. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you $300 and we can call it a deal…"

"350, and that's the lowest I can do" Diva snapped back.

"Alright!" Blaze grinned, then the two ladies shook on it.

"Great, I'll have this wrapped up for you right away. It's a beautiful piece you've chosen by the way," Diva stood there for a moment to admire the portrait next to Blaze. It had a large white detailed butterfly at the centre of it, surrounded by shades of red and fire.

"Do you understand what it represents?" Diva asked.

"I'm not 100% sure, but I'd like to put it on my wall," Blaze smiled.

"It represents hell on earth. See, the butterfly you see is pure, but it is surrounded by fire and darkness and is trapped. Sound familiar?" She suddenly became philosophical.

"Maybe… do you mind if I use the bathroom while you wrap this up?" Blaze asked. Tim had stood back, wondering what on earth she was doing wasting $350 when Blaze needed an advance this month.

"Sure, it's just back there then up the flight of stairs" Diva gestured.

"Thanks!"

As Blaze reached the back of the store, she noticed another solid door at the foot of the staircase. She quietly forced it open then cautiously made her way down to the basement of the building. By the time she had reached the bottom, the stench of the basement was foul with a couple of dead rats scattered in the corner.

Blaze then reached another well lit room without any windows. She carefully moved several paintings forward and was immediately shocked at what she had witnessed behind them. The back wall consisted of an array of several large snake tanks embedded into it. They were each lit up and were sparking electricity from time to time. Blaze cringed at the idea of seeing one snake, let alone ten. But then, there it was. The drugs stash that they had been searching for all this time. Each kilo was taped up at the bottom of every snake tank.

All she had to do was access one packet then open it so that they would have enough concrete evidence to force an arrest.

"Easy now…"

Blaze whispered at the dormant snake as she began to slide open the tank. The reptile who was at first dormant, suddenly leaped forward at the glass and hissed at her. At that point, Blaze's pulse skipped several beats. She instantly pulled back before slowly trying again. This time, she attempted to place one hand into the tank from above to reach for the stash.

"Easy now…" she nervously said to the snake once again. The white creature was definitely poisonous and unpredictable, but she was so close in obtaining what they had come for.

Blaze managed to move her hand down to the base of the tank at the slowest, most cautious speed possible whilst she held her breath. Finally, her fingers touched the small case of drugs that were tightly wrapped in paper. She quickly grabbed it then pulled it out, just in the nick of time when the snake hissed once again and leapt forward. Its fangs reached only millimetres from Blaze's hand so she felt a lucky escape. She quickly slid the tank door shut from above, then stumbled back to catch her breath.

Blaze let out the biggest sigh of relief then smiled victoriously to herself after uncovering one of the wrapped kilos of cocaine.

"What the hell is goin' on in here?!" Suddenly, Blaze was caught off guard when another female voice entered the basement area. This lady however, had a darker green shade of hair and was dressed in a similar fashion to Diva. Blaze suspected it was her sister or another relative. This woman was holding a black snake which was drooling green saliva from its fangs. Blaze had never seen anything like it before.

She quickly jumped to one side as the snake leapt forward for her. Blaze then threw the kilo of coke right towards Beyo which the snake ended up digging its fangs into. The space between them immediately turned into a white cloud.

"Let go!" Beyo ordered the snake, however it refused to loosen its bite on the packaging.

"Seems like your pet likes to get high!" Blaze snarled as she jumped up from the ground. But Beyo wasn't about to give up. She ran forward, landing a kick in Blaze's chest which threw the fighter backwards. Blaze then counteracted as she somersaulted forward with agility where her fists and feet ended up slamming into Beyo's ribs. "Hishousouzan!" She shouted with energy.

Beyo landed hard on the ground, so Blaze took the opportunity to reach for her handcuffs under her jacket to make the arrest whilst restraining her on the floor. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say…"

Suddenly, Diva aggressively ran into the room pointing a gun at Blaze. Diva already had blood stained over her cream coloured shirt so Blaze feared at that moment that Tim had been injured or worse.

"Stand up, now!" Diva demanded. By now, it had been too late for Blaze to reach for her handgun. "You fuckin' cops are always tryna' meddle in my business! Get up now bitch, I want your hands in the air!"

"Ok," Blaze calmly replied as she stood up off the floor.

"Good girl. Now, you're going to explain what…."

Unexpectedly, Diva's sentence was fiercely cut short. Tim had snuck up from behind and had reached for a sculpture of a heavy gold chicken that he used when he hit her at the back of the head. Diva immediately fell dazed to the ground before he handcuffed her.

"This bitch was startin' to get on my nerves…" Tim caught his breath. "Are you ok?" He asked Blaze.

"Never better!" She grinned. The two of them had just busted a major drugs operation and Blaze was well on her way at redeeming herself with the Commissioner.

"Are you ok?" Blaze queried, noticing blood on Tim's muscular bicep.

"Yeah, it's just bullet shrapnel. I'll live!" He winked as he dragged Diva up off the ground.

It didn't take long for backup to arrive on the scene and soon after, the Head of the DEA personally congratulated the two of them.

"Seems like your instincts were right." Tim commented as the pair watched Diva and Beyo being transported away to custody.

"Thanks for saving my ass back there", Blaze smiled as she gave Tim a friendly punch on his uninjured arm.

"Anytime! We're partners now so I got your back!" He grinned.

Tim had been Axel's sidekick at the precinct for almost 5 years. He was grateful to finally gain another partner who was just as crazy and as bold as her predecessor. Axel had asked Tim Murphy on several occasions to join their team of vigilantes and even though he would have been a great fighter for the team, Tim always refused. He had insisted on doing things by the book, much like Adam did. Tim was a little older than the trio, in his early 30s with mousy blond hair and piercing brown eyes. He was a little rugged around the edges but was a dedicated and reliable friend that Axel had once counted on. The guy had also recently got divorced after a whirlwind marriage. His ex-wife had suddenly packed up and left their home after growing sick of Tim's dedication to his career and the wild late nights out that he took priority over.

"Hey, wanna go for a drink later on after work to celebrate our first victory?" He asked.

"Sure!" Blaze smiled. "I'll meet you at Hatchet's for 7!"

"Great!" He smiled back.

Once Blaze had returned to her own desk back at the precinct, Tim was summoned once again into the Commissioner's office. Bernstein abruptly closed the door then locked it behind them.

"Wanna explain to me what just went down today?" He baked.

"We were just doing our job. Besides, we were bound to discover that stash sooner or later, Blaze is a smart cookie…" Tim shrugged.

"You know exactly what you should be focussed on right now. Find out where Stone is!"

"What's the rush? I'm sure he'l come back when he's ready to" the officer answered.

The Commissioner shook his head at Tim in dismay. "You don't understand. We're starting to run out of time and they need answers. My sister's children who are now orphans thanks to your old friends still want an explanation for their father's death. If we don't hand over Mr X's killer to the remaining syndicate, they'll shut us all down. I know that Axel made the kill. He never wanted to arrest Mr X. Once they have their vengeance and we deliver Stone to them, things around here will return back to normal, I promise." Bernstein explained.

"Don't you think that it's too late for that? The syndicate already owns most of Wood Oak's Police force, even if Mr X is dead!"

"I'm disappointed in you Murphy," Bernstein stepped forward. "You've sworn allegiance to this place so you will follow through with this. I won't repeat myself again, and we're running out of time. We have to deliver on this. Can you find Axel or do we need to take harsher action?"

"Look, I'll get Blaze to talk. If anybody knows where he is, it's her. Just give me some more time. In the meantime no harm has to come her way, just let me handle it. They want Axel and they'll kill him for what he's done. Blaze was just doing her job…" Tim sighed.

"Ok then. But you'd better be right about this, Murphy!" The Commissioner threatened.