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Description
Captain Andrews held me as I cried then looked into my eyes and took a deep breath.

“I think its my turn to open up. Chrissy Bryant was my partner,” she said with tears in her eyes. “But I guess you knew that?”

“Yeah. She told me to find you if anything ever happened to her. Detective Bryant said that you were the only person she trusted in that stinking cesspit of corruption. She said you were a pain in the ass, but completely incorruptible. Turns out she was right on both counts! But I wasn’t ready to trust anyone else, so I did things my own way. And when I graduated from the academy, I asked to be assigned to your division.”

Andrews smiled begrudgingly at that, but there was an unfamiliar tremor in her voice as she spoke.

“Chrissy contacted me and told me she had taken you into hiding. I pleaded with her to come back. She wasn’t only your hero, she was mine too. She took me under her wing as a rookie. I think I was in love with her.

When she contacted me again a few months later, she told me there was something important she needed to do, but it was dangerous. If I didn’t hear from her within two weeks, she wanted me to find you and make sure you were taken care of. But I didn’t understand why she had given up everything for some kid. Why she had deserted me. But Chrissy just said you were special to her and that one day I would understand and you’d be just as special to me. And that was the last time I heard from her.”

Andrews started to cry as she spoke.

“I’m so sorry TJ, I should have come for you then, but I was racked by resentment and in mourning for Chrissy. I tried everything to find her, but I left you to fend for yourself. Eventually, wracked with guilt, I came to my senses and went to find you, but the house was empty. It had been turned upside down and neighbours said nobody had seen you since some out of town police had turned up looking for you. I assumed, they got you too. I was heartbroken; I’d let Chrissy down, and I couldn’t forgive myself.

Then two years later, the file of an academy graduate slid across my desk. She had some discipline issues but she was top of the class. No way she would’ve been assigned to my dead-end unit if she hadn’t demanded it.
I was intrigued, so I invited you in.

I knew who you were the instant you stepped through my door. It was like a young Chrissy Bryant had just walked back into my life. You had the hair, the jacket — literally her jacket — and that lucky lion’s tooth thing around your neck. You even had her attitude, It was like looking at a ghost and I barely held it together.

I’m sorry if I’ve been hard on you, but I’d been given a second chance and I wasn’t going to let Chrissy down again. I made it my mission to keep you out of trouble no matter how insistent you were about charging towards danger wherever you found it.”

“I just thought you hated me, Boss!”

Andrews held me tighter.

“I could never hate you TJ. You remind me so much of Chrissy. But I have let you down and we’ve been dancing around the truth for far too long. We needed this talk. It’s time we got everything out in the open.

Speaking of which. You should probably know that the whole Lion of Slayburgh thing was me too. I know how much you hate it, but top brass were putting pressure on me to bring you to heel or they’d take it out of my hands and get rid of you. You were too much of a loose cannon. Really they were worried that you’d expose their corruption. So when you rescued that first truckload of missing girls, I leaked it to the press and made you the hero of the story. They lapped it up and the higher-ups couldn’t just fire a bonified heroine of the people.”

“That was you, Boss!”

“It helped me protect you from the brass, but I’m sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable.”

Description
Captain Andrews held me as I cried then looked into my eyes and took a deep breath.

“I think its my turn to open up. Chrissy Bryant was my partner,” she said with tears in her eyes. “But I guess you knew that?”

“Yeah. She told me to find you if anything ever happened to her. Detective Bryant said that you were the only person she trusted in that stinking cesspit of corruption. She said you were a pain in the ass, but completely incorruptible. Turns out she was right on both counts! But I wasn’t ready to trust anyone else, so I did things my own way. And when I graduated from the academy, I asked to be assigned to your division.”

Andrews smiled begrudgingly at that, but there was an unfamiliar tremor in her voice as she spoke.

“Chrissy contacted me and told me she had taken you into hiding. I pleaded with her to come back. She wasn’t only your hero, she was mine too. She took me under her wing as a rookie. I think I was in love with her.

When she contacted me again a few months later, she told me there was something important she needed to do, but it was dangerous. If I didn’t hear from her within two weeks, she wanted me to find you and make sure you were taken care of. But I didn’t understand why she had given up everything for some kid. Why she had deserted me. But Chrissy just said you were special to her and that one day I would understand and you’d be just as special to me. And that was the last time I heard from her.”

Andrews started to cry as she spoke.

“I’m so sorry TJ, I should have come for you then, but I was racked by resentment and in mourning for Chrissy. I tried everything to find her, but I left you to fend for yourself. Eventually, wracked with guilt, I came to my senses and went to find you, but the house was empty. It had been turned upside down and neighbours said nobody had seen you since some out of town police had turned up looking for you. I assumed, they got you too. I was heartbroken; I’d let Chrissy down, and I couldn’t forgive myself.

Then two years later, the file of an academy graduate slid across my desk. She had some discipline issues but she was top of the class. No way she would’ve been assigned to my dead-end unit if she hadn’t demanded it.
I was intrigued, so I invited you in.

I knew who you were the instant you stepped through my door. It was like a young Chrissy Bryant had just walked back into my life. You had the hair, the jacket — literally her jacket — and that lucky lion’s tooth thing around your neck. You even had her attitude, It was like looking at a ghost and I barely held it together.

I’m sorry if I’ve been hard on you, but I’d been given a second chance and I wasn’t going to let Chrissy down again. I made it my mission to keep you out of trouble no matter how insistent you were about charging towards danger wherever you found it.”

“I just thought you hated me, Boss!”

Andrews held me tighter.

“I could never hate you TJ. You remind me so much of Chrissy. But I have let you down and we’ve been dancing around the truth for far too long. We needed this talk. It’s time we got everything out in the open.

Speaking of which. You should probably know that the whole Lion of Slayburgh thing was me too. I know how much you hate it, but top brass were putting pressure on me to bring you to heel or they’d take it out of my hands and get rid of you. You were too much of a loose cannon. Really they were worried that you’d expose their corruption. So when you rescued that first truckload of missing girls, I leaked it to the press and made you the hero of the story. They lapped it up and the higher-ups couldn’t just fire a bonified heroine of the people.”

“That was you, Boss!”

“It helped me protect you from the brass, but I’m sorry if it made you feel uncomfortable.”