Chapter 9

The last two weeks had been a good distraction for Blaze since the Commissioner gave her new cases to work on as well as a new partner. For the first time in days, she decided to pick up her cell phone to reach Adam and see if he wanted to hang out. Although Blaze was still badly missing Axel, she had started to do more things in her spare time to keep herself busy and distracted.

"Hey!" Adam answered, pleasantly surprised to hear from her.

"Hey, how are you?"

The pair of friends had barely seen one another since Blaze broke the news to him a couple of weeks back. Adam had been very tied up with work ever since, but he still rang from time to time to check up on her.

"I'm good! It's nice to hear from you" he genuinely smiled.

"I know you always get the last Friday of the month off work, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang out today? I've decided to finally go and look for those baby clothes! I figured that, what with your experience with Cherry, you'd be able to help and might wanna come with me?" Blaze shyly asked.

"I'd love to, but I got another date tonight with Estel tonight…." Adam awkwardly answered.

"It's ok, I understand!" Blaze replied, pleasantly surprised and happy for him.

"When did you say your scan was?"

"Next Thursday. I'm nervous as hell!" She huffed.

"I don't blame you. If your baby daddy hadn't have been so selfish, maybe things would be easier right now….I'm sorry" Adam took a deep exhale as he bit his tongue.

"It's ok. I know you miss him too…"

The truth was that over the past few weeks, Adam had grown more and more angrier with Axel and his departure. Time was ticking on and still, there was no phone call and no indication of him ever returning home. This was the period that Axel really needed to step up in life and even though he had no idea about the baby, it was still irresponsible of him to have left for this long without a phone call or a single attempt of making contact. He was about to miss out big time on his own child and nothing or no search of his was worth that.

"I'll tell you what, how about Estel and I come shopping with you before our reservation later? She won't mind. You can pretend to be our surrogate for the day!" Adam joked.

"So you are serious about her huh?" Blaze teased. "Don't let Estel hear you saying that though, she'l most definitely kick your ass!"

"Don't I know it!" Adam laughed.

"Look, don't worry about it. Go and enjoy your date later! I think I might just chill in front of the TV with more chocolate for the rest of the day and online baby shopping instead" she laughed.

"Good! It's great to hear you sounding better, you know?" Adam smiled.

"Thanks! Yeah, work has just been so much better lately and is keeping me busy. I also got that advance cheque yesterday and a little bonus to go with it after cracking six drug raids. Tim and I are killin' it!" Blaze enthusiastically replied.

"What so Murphy is your partner now? That's good I suppose…but when are you planning on telling the Commissioner that you're pregnant? You'll need to come off field work for a few months…"

"Please, there's nothing worse than spending my days at the office in the precinct. I'll tell Bernstein tomorrow though, I can't hide this bump forever."

"Ok," Adam nodded. "Blaze, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you for stepping up. You can do anything you put your mind to and I know this kid will be lucky to have you, even if their father isn't around".

"Thanks Adam," she smiled. "And make sure you fill me in on how that date turns out!"

The next morning, Blaze anxiously stood outside of the Commissioner's office before his arrival. She had just thrown up in the ladies room which didn't help and she was starting to feel agitated and hungry once again, even though the day had barely started.

"Officer Fielding? What can I do for you?" He politely asked for once when he noticed her waiting outside. Over the last two weeks, Blaze was excelling at her job and Bernstein had no excuses or justification for being his usual moody self with her. He had left it completely down to Tim to find out Axel's whereabouts, but he didn't want Blaze to suspect anything of it.

"There's something I need to talk to you about…"

"You should have already received that advance plus an overtime bonus. I can't give you another one until next month!" He huffed.

"No Sir, it's not that. And thank you again for that advance, it was really helpful" Blaze nodded.

"Step inside then," he gestured through the door.

Her palms began to sweat as Blaze grew more and more nervous once she entered the office.

"Sir, I think it's best if another officer works on the field with Murphy on our drugs task force from now on…"

"What?! Why?!" He immediately stood up in front of her in shock. "I thought this was the work you wanted?! Why the sudden change of heart?"

"It is, and it's great, don't get me wrong! But I think I'll have to remain on surveillance duty or evidence from now on, at least for the next few months. It's too dangerous otherwise…."

The Commissioner began to heckle in disbelief at what he was hearing from her. "Blaze, you're one of our best fighters! The others here ain't got a hope in hell. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" He frowned before gulping down another sip of his regular coffee.

"Commissioner, I er… I'm four months pregnant…" She hesitated as she rolled her eyes slightly embarrassed. Bernstein spat out his drink profusely as his initial reaction. The brown coffee had now lingered over the hairs on his grey moustache and had stained his crisp white shirt.

"Jesus Christ Fielding!" Bernstein yelled. "Well I was wrong, I overestimated you!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't expect…" Blaze shrugged.

"You've only got yourself to blame for this after hooking up with that crooked cop who I bet is the father!"

She immediately snapped back at him. "Axel was never crooked! Sure we were vigilantes but…"

Bernstein then interrupted her once again, "I bet that son of a bitch ditched you then ran off when he found out about the baby. And now he's left you here, knocked up! Your career is over Fielding!"

"What you're saying ain't true, plus I got rights!" Blaze squared up to him with determination in her voice.

"Rights?" He laughed. "Darlin' you should have stated this little revelation of yours in writing. As of today, you're demoted! And I want that bonus back!"

"What?! You can't just do that?!" Blaze started to yell at him whilst heavily breathing. She could feel her blood boiling underneath her skin and her cheeks were reddening as her temper started to flare.

"I'd say a demotion is better than nothing. If you think we have the time and money to grant you extra benefits for a year's worth of absence, then you got another thing coming".

"You are so out of your depth! I've worked my ass off at this place since I was 18!" Blaze snarled, growing angrier with him by the second.

He patronisingly smirked at her then tilted his head. "So? Do you think that all means anything now?" Bernstein then gestured to the side of his desk where a large pile of paperwork stood high.

"So, I've needed a secretary for a while now. Why don't you first calm down those hormones of yours and get started on filing these documents while you're here…."

Blaze had had enough at that point. Suddenly, Bernstein saw stars in front of his vision as her fist flew forward then crashed powerfully into his jaw. It made a cracking sound where the heavy punch had completely caught him off guard. The tall, hench man who was double her weight and size stumbled back like a drunk onto his desk with a dislocated jaw. He shouted in pain then held tightly onto the side of his tomato face.

"Someone like you needs anger management fast!" He yelled, staring at Blaze disturbed. Never before had an employee dared to strike him during Bernstein's long 30 year career here.

The truth is though, it felt good. Real good to finally throw a punch that Blaze wanted to often execute and daydreamed about since she started here. At this point in time, she didn't give a shit anymore about what her boss thought of her and where her career was headed.

Blaze stood there tall as the Commissioner perished over his desk. She laughed hard at his suggestion for her to take anger management classes.

"You think this is funny? Get your ass out of my fucking office immediately! Fielding, You're fired!" She heard him yell like never before.

Blaze smirked back as she gladly threw down her badge and gun on the desk.

"Fuck you!" She angrily spat, kicking over his steep pile of paperwork before she strutted out of the office.

"Are you serious? And he didn't even get up after he fell over the desk?" Tim questioned Blaze in awe with astonishment on his face.

"Nope!" She proudly shook her head.

"Wow! You unleashed a beast Fielding! You sure as hell got balls for standing up to Bernstein like that," he chuckled.

The two of them had just met up in a bar outside of work so that Blaze could give her partner the lowdown.

"So does that mean we'll no longer be working together from now on?" Tim asked with disappointment behind his tone. Over the past two weeks, he and Blaze had worked side by side every day. He had grown fond of her and the pair had cracked some serious cases together, even though it was all during a short space of time.

"I'm sorry Tim," Blaze sighed with guilt. "I got a lot of shit going on right now. Bernstein did offer me a demotion though if I agreed to take anger management classes. But that ain't gonna happen anytime soon!" She rolled her eyes.

The two of them immediately burst out laughing after a short pause. "Anger management!? I swear that guy has a death wish saying that to you!" Tim joked. "Hey, let's celebrate!"

"Celebrate? I just got fired though!" Blaze raised an eyebrow.

"Hell Yeah! You know what they say, when one door closes another opens. I always try to look at these things in a positive light," he replied.

"Makes sense," Blaze nodded.

"That bottle of champagne right there has our names on it. What do you think?" Tim signalled over towards the barman.

"Oh, I'll just have a soda please," she smiled.

Tim frowned back at her, "what are you tryna January detox or something?... Can I get a beer and one soda for the lady please?" He diverted his attention to the barman.

"No, no detox" Blaze laughed. "If you wanna know the truth, there were actually three of us working on those drug raids!" She smiled, glancing down towards her stomach.

"Ohhhh!" Tim almost choked on his drink, caught slightly off guard.

"I didn't wanna say anything to you before, because I didn't want this to compromise the cases we were working on or our partnership. You shouldn't have to feel bad if something had gone wrong on duty or were to happen to me or the baby…" Blaze shrugged.

"I understand. You don't have to explain yourself."

"Thanks! This is the whole reason why I got the sack today…."

"Well, Bernstein is a dick for firing you. He's lost a good officer today, or two…" Tim winked.

"Oh, I can't see this little one ever becoming a cop like us. I wouldn't want them to!"

Tim then placed his bottle of beer on the bar and shifted himself slightly on his stool to face her. "Do you mind me asking…?"

Blaze sighed. "I know what you're gonna ask. And the answer is yes, the rumours are true about me and Axel" she sunk her chin into her palm as she rested one elbow on the bartop.

"But he's left for good right?" Tim had suddenly found an opportunity to get Blaze to talk and open up about where Axel really was. He was running out of time and the new uprising syndicate wanted answers fast.

"I don't know…" Blaze avoided his gaze. "It was all of a sudden, you know? I mean, we knew he was leaving for the wilderness but I thought he had changed his mind" she stared down towards her drink with sadness on her face.

"The wilderness!? Why the hell would Axel wanna live there?" Tim was surprised.

"Axel had a lot going on in his head and needed to help himself. I get it…"

"But that still ain't fair on you, or that baby! I remember when my ex wife just walked out of my life one night without a second thought or explanation. She never reached out to me after that and it hurt really bad. I was lost for a long time….."

"I'm so sorry," Blaze replied, placing one hand on his arm.

"Yeah well, some people ain't just cut out to know what's good for them! I've witnessed Axel make some stupid decisions over the years, but honestly, walking out on you? That guy's an idiot! You deserve so much better Blaze…"

Unexpectedly, Tim took her hand off his arm and held onto it. He then leaned forward to kiss her. Their lips met for a split second, but Blaze pulled back in shock with his behaviour.

"What are you doing?!" She froze, staring at him with her eyes wide open in shock.

"I'm sorry… I just really care about you and I wanna make you happy…"

Blaze's tone immediately changed towards him as she shook her head, disappointed. "That was wrong on so many levels Tim! I care about you too, but I thought we were friends? And Axel is your friend too, despite what you think of him and what he's done. Let's be clear about this, he's coming back and I'm still with him!"

"I'm so sorry…" Tim buried his head in his hands ashamed as he frantically gripped onto his hair with frustration.

"It's ok, and I won't hold it against you." Blaze calmed down. "You're an amazing guy Tim and a good person. We're still friends arn't we, yeah?" She asked, suddenly feeling guilty after snapping at him.

"Of course Blaze," Tim also calmed down and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Thanks" she nodded. "I'd better go home now, it's getting late."

"Need a ride back?" He asked, avoiding her gaze.

"It's ok. I'll see you tomorrow night though, yeah?" Blaze asked as she got off her stool.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah! For you're birthday drinks right? I didn't forget, I promise!"

"Yeah!" Tim forced a short laugh and a grin. "8pm Hatchets, and don't be late I know what you're like Fielding!" He winked. Suddenly all of the awkwardness between them had disappeared.

"Goodnight!" Blaze smiled as she left.

"Goodnight…"

After that, Tim remained at the bar drinking and drowning his sorrows for several more hours until the end of the night. The truth was, he'd felt slighly angry and bitter at Blaze for rejecting him the way she did. If only she had given him a chance, Tim was willing to reveal to her the whole truth. The truth about his addiction and all the money he owed. The truth about the uprising of the New Syndicate, their control over the police department, what they wanted and most importantly, the plans they had in order to avenge Mr X's death. But Blaze was now collateral damage in his eyes. He also resented and envied his old partner Axel even more now because Blaze had stood by him.

"It's closing time in ten minutes," the barman informed him, distracting Tim away from his thoughts. By now the venue was near-empty. Tim was surprised when his cell phone on the other stool started ringing during the early hours of the morning.

"Hello?" He frowned whilst he staggered himself off the bar stool. A deep male voice he knew was on the other end of the line.

"Did you find out where Stone is hiding?" The man asked straight away.

"No. But he's somewhere outside of Wood Oak City, in the wilderness…." Tim sighed.

"That's not good enough. Does Blaze know where he is?"

"Possibly, but she's loyal to him. Getting her to talk wasn't easy".

"Then we'll have to turn to plan B then," the voice replied.

Tim frowned with worry on his face, "What does that mean then?"

"You know what that means, I don't have to explain it to you…"

"Ok. I'm sure that if you just rough her up a little, you can get Blaze to talk. Just stay off my fucking back though from now on, yeah? I don't owe you anything else!" Tim snarled.

"Just tell me when the best time is to find her and your debt will be cleared…"

Tim took a short pause and a deep breath. "Tomorrow night. Hatchet's bar at 8pm. Just promise, once you know where Axel is you'll leave her alone".

"You have my word. Oh and Murphy? There's a special delivery waiting for you outside for your cooperation with us tonight." They then abruptly hung up.

Tim knew what the delivery for him was and what it meant. At the entrance to the bar, a female punk with short brown hair called Victoria was holding a clear plastic bag in her grip. The addiction to pills that Tim had was a bitch and he would do anything to get his fix every night. He gave the lady a brief nod as they discretely exchanged the bag when he passed her on the way out. At that point, nothing or nobody else mattered.