14 Promotion Problems

I was sitting at my desk reading the letter in front of me with a combination of surprise and satisfaction. Captain Marquette had hinted after we cleared up that serial killer case just over a month ago that something good might be coming our way and he hadn't been kidding.

The BPD's promotions board letter stated that I was to be considered for promotion to Sergeant and would be required to front the Board in just over a month's time. It also said there would be a written evaluation to be carried out before I sat the Board but that didn't bother me.

Me, a sergeant; I dropped the letter on my desk for a moment while I just sat back and considered it, while it wouldn't change the job and I'd still spend as much time out in the field as I did now, it'd be nice to be recognised for all the hard work I'd put in over the years.

I was dragged from my reverie by an all-too-unpleasantly familiar voice.

"What the hell?" It was Crowe, he must have been passing behind me and spotted the letter with the distinctive Promotions Board logo visible on my desk. "You of all people, fronting up to the promo board, what the fuck kind of joke is that?" I turned my head as he snatched up the letter and started reading it as I cursed my mistake; quickly I reached out and pulled the letter from his hands and glared at him.

"Let me guess Crowe, you have a problem with that too?" He shook his head as he waved round the room, taking in all the cops sitting there now listening in.

"There's a lot more senior detectives here who deserve a shot at sergeant way more than you" I let a lazy smile slip and decided to twist the knife a little, I mean what the hell, Crowe deserved it.

"What's up Crowe, you one of those 'more senior' detectives you're moaning about?" I favoured him with a taunting grin as I let a little insolence into my tone. "Tell me, are you a little pissed that you didn't get a letter?" He shook his head and launched into a diatribe even as he looked to some of the other cops for support.

"You don't deserve a shot, you haven't been here long enough to deserve a promotion, there's lots better cops here, me included, we deserve a shot at Sergeant, not some glory-seeking lezzie" I took him in standing there as I replied.

"You're full of it Crowe, even more of it than normal" I shook my head. "I guess the board wasn't impressed by your dedication to anything besides your own sense of self-importance" I smiled a little cruelly. "Maybe if you actually applied yourself to something other than your daily donut intake you might achieve something worth the board's attention" He sneered at me and immediately went straight for the sleazy response, not that I was surprised; this was Crowe we're talking about here after all.

"I would have thought the only way someone like you would make sergeant is you on your knees blowing the board, but given you're a rug-muncher and apparently allergic to cock that's not happening" I shot him a filthy look.

"Sorry Crowe, that's not me, but don't let that stop you, hey if that's your thing…" He dug a bit deeper for something else to throw at me.

"It's probably Isle's money then, she's buying you a shot" I shook my head at the level of crap this piece of filth was willing to shovel.

"Crowe, you're a complete idiot, she doesn't even know about this, I only just opened the damned letter, you're the first person who knows and that's only because you can't mind your own damned business"

"I dunno then, there's gotta be an explanation, maybe she got you a shot in return for funding the mayor's election campaign"

"What the hell? Crowe, do you actually believe this shit or do you just spew forth the first random piece of crap that crawls into your mouth?" Carl Jessup, the team's newest detective jumped in, hopping on the 'bash Rizzoli' bandwagon; he had previous form given I'd heard him repeating some of Crowe's shit to others.

"Maybe the Mayor's trying to buy the gay vote, pushing a dyke like you forward to show he's being all 'inclusive' like" He said the word inclusive as if it was something shameful.

"So there's no way it might be because I've earned it?" I glared around the room, seeing the rest of the cops there looking at us. "No way that it's because I have a much better closure rate than any two of you combined?" I speared Jessup with a vicious look.

"Or because I've put more serial killers behind bars than the rest of Division 1 Homicide combined, including that one last month" I turned back to Crowe. "You remember that one don't you Crowe, you must; that's the one the Captain pulled you off of because he actually wanted it solved" He sneered at me.

"Only because your bitch went and whined to him about it" I let my eyes narrow and my voice get dangerous.

"Mind your manners Crowe or you'll be making yet another trip back to the dentist and I won't give a shit about the consequences" He shook his head though I didn't miss he'd flinched a little at the threat.

"You're on thin ice with Cavanagh already Rizzoli, you wouldn't dare" I smiled coldly at him.

"You wanna put money on that Crowe, cause I'm telling you, you'll lose" Tomkins stepped back in to try and bail his partner out.

"Fuck knows why they'd even consider you as sergeant" I tossed him a disdainful look and an even more dismissive comment.

"Oh look, its Crowe's sock puppet, it even speaks" I shook my head contemptuously. "I dunno, maybe it's because I've got more commendations that any of you, all earned the hard way" Deciding to cut him down to size I shook my head. "How many have you earned Tomkins?" He flushed red rather than answer as Crowe reverted to form.

"Fuck you Rizzoli" I shook my head.

"No thanks Crowe, like I've told you before I stick to humans, but hey, don't let that stop you and your partner…" I let that trail off as I shook my head and turned back to the paperwork on my desk, only to have Crowe's voice follow me.

"Maybe you should take that promotion Rizzoli, and move somewhere they need your talents, maybe back in Vice where you can fuck all the whores, after all you'd like that, going down on all the crack hoe's, it'd be the only way you'd get pregnant, sucking jizz outa their pussy's" I turned my head and favoured him with a dismissive look.

"You really have no idea how pregnancy works do you Crowe? Maybe that's why you still can't find a woman who can stand being with you without you paying for it" I shook my head. "Besides, I wouldn't want to cut in on your action Crowe, I'm sure you've got that angle covered, for those times when Tompkins can't rise to the occasion" His eyes narrowed at the insult, and the inference, before he tried again.

"We'd be better off without you anyway Rizzoli" I smiled at his weak riposte.

"Oh, worried that having me around makes you look like the incompetent douchebag you are?" I gave him a nasty smile. "No need to thank me Crowe it's all part of the service"

"Last thing we need is some grandstander looking to get her face on the front page of the paper, or the social pages" He sneered at me. "We need cops with their head in the game, not wannabe celebrities" I shook my head at his comments, did he actually believe the crap he was saying?

"Like I want any of that, I just wanna get cases solved, just like the rest of you" I glanced round the room, taking in the silent faces. "The other shit just happens; I don't go looking for any of it"

"You're still a glory-seeking dyke" I shook my head at Jessup's comment.

"And you're an incompetent blow in from the juvie squad, but I don't hold that against you, after all douche bags gotta douche" I shook my head then let him have it. "Come talk to me when you've actually got a few solved homicides under your belt noob; then you might have earned the right to have me listen to your idiot opinions"

"Fuck you Rizzoli" I tipped my head to regard him, Jessup was actually a half-way decent looking guy, but I wasn't interested, not now, not ever.

"Thanks for the offer but I have a much better option available, so you'll have to take care of yourself, again" I smiled, a little cruelly. "Or talk to Crowe and Tompkins, they might help you out"

"Maybe if you actually did your job instead of grandstanding…"

"Really, you think I grandstand, how? I don't like the media, I don't talk to the media and I don't kiss the brasses ass, so how the hell do you figure that I grandstand?"

"You've always got your name in the papers, that's what"

"I'm in the papers because I solve cases you moron" I shook my head. "The same thing we all want to do" Crowe sneered at me.

"Yeah, but the rest of us, we work just as hard as you do, harder even, but we don't appear in the news, get commendations thrown at us like you do or end up splashed across the social pages" He shook his head. "Face it Rizzoli, you're not a detective, you're a media-seeking attention whore"

"Crowe, you're full of it" He brayed out a laugh.

"Ask anyone here Rizzoli, go on" I saw a couple of cops, especially some of the older ones, the time servers and the place holders, nodding in agreement making me shake my head in scorn, I didn't realise so many of the cops here were so damned petty, or insecure, they sure seem to have bought into Crowe and Cavanagh's harassment.

"So that's what you all think?" Several of them looked away; most didn't though, making me scowl as Crowe jumped back in.

"Obviously no one here thinks your worth it Rizzoli, maybe you should just fuck off and let good honest cops do their job" I spun angrily on Crowe; he must have seen the look on my face as he took a sudden step back, seeing real fear appear in his eyes as I stood and took a step his way, my voice low and bitter with anger.

"Crowe, if you ever suggest that I'm dirty again, I'll beat the living shit out of you, consequences be damned, then I'll demand an IA investigation into your claims to prove I'm clean. Then once that's done, I'll be dragging you before the disciplinary panel for malicious conduct unbecoming, do you understand me?" He took me in, seeing the way I was coiled tight and nodded jerkily, realising I was deadly serious, an adverse finding by the panel after making unsubstantiated claims of corruption against a fellow officer would kill his career stone dead. Naturally the weasel started back-peddling.

"Sure, whatever Rizzoli, jeez chill out will ya, I didn't mean nothing by it is all" I stared at him for another few seconds then looked around the room, taking them in.

"If that's the general opinion here, that I'm such a fucking embarrassment to this department, maybe I should go elsewhere"

"Who the fuck would take a dyke like you anyway, no one's that desperate?" It was Tompkins, taking over while Crowe was temporarily cowed. I just looked round the room and smiled, that 'I know something you don't' smile, seeing several of them look a little unnerved. Finally I shook my head at them and spoke.

"We shall see" With that I grabbed the Promotion's Board letter and, folding it back into its creases, turned and walked out, my head held high. I needed to talk to Maura.

Maybe it was time for that change.