And now, the moment you've all been waiting for. It's a battle royale, Goren vs. Anti-Goren (Thanks Tres) for the world heavyweight championship.

Whenever I say your name, let there be no mistake that day will last forever - Sting
I should have known better. Never let your guard down in an interrogation room, not matter what side of the table you are on. If you do, your foe can quickly get the upper hand and defeat you. And defeat in this game can cost you everything.

I was startled awake by the slamming of the door. As I blinked my eyes clear, the Hulk moved in, taking advantage of my dazed state.

"Enjoying your nap, Mr. Jenkins?" His breath; smelling of coffee, mints and just a hint of cigarette smoke; wafted over me, bringing me completely awake.

"Well, I was. You think I could get a cup of coffee now, Detective?" I rubbed my eyes, forcing the last vestiges of sleep from them.

"Sure. Would you like a donut, too?" His smirk told me all I needed to know. I wasn't getting anything from him. Not until I gave him something.

"Don't you think the whole coffee and donuts thing is a bit cliché, Detective?" I always did recover my wits quickly when I woke up in a strange place.

"Only if we are talking about powdered sugar donuts, Mr. Jenkins." He again perched himself across the table from me.

That chair was seeing more ass action than a tranny hooker on a payday weekend.

"So, no coffee, I see. Oh well, a guy can hope." I sprawled back in my chair, waiting for the questions to begin again.

"Mr. Jenkins, let's talk about Karen Bowden. You told Detective Eames that you didn't recognize the name, which doesn't surprise me. Bowden was her married name. You knew her as Karen Flynn," he looked expectantly at me, waiting to see if I'd lie.

"Yes. I know Karen Flynn. And you damned well know that. She was my partner." Why was he referring to her in the past tense? Did something happen?

"Yes. You and Detective Flynn were partners for four years in Vice. You had an impressive closure and conviction rate. Then something happened. The record shows that disciplinary reports were issued for both you and Detective Flynn and you, Mr. Jenkins, were transferred to Organized Crime. The records don't go into detail, but I can make some guesses, if you don't mind listening for a few more minutes." He leaned back, awaiting my answer.

"I don't have much choice, do I, Detective?" I forced a smile, "so, do continue."

He stood and began pacing as he talked, slipping into an easy gait, a tiger stalking his prey. I'm dead.

"You and Detective Flynn were close friends, as partners become when they work well together. You completed each other's sentences and worked flawlessly together on cases. You were birds of a feather and used it to your advantage on more than a few occasions. Then, something changed. You became more than partners, more than friends. You became lovers. You shared everything else, why not a bed." He hesitated; his arms crossed, one hand held to his mouth; than looked at me to see if he was hitting his target.

He was. I felt my eyes tearing up as I remembered those days, short as they were and so long ago.

He resumed his gait, continuing, "But something happened. Maybe the strain of keeping your relationship a secret began to weigh on you both. Your work became erratic, disruptive to the rest of the unit. And life at home became unbearable. You fought about everything, frequent screaming matches the norm. Finally, your supervisor had enough and censured both of you. Did you request the transfer?"

I just stared at him. He was right. Completely. How did he know? And why is he looking at me like that. Oh, right, he asked a question. "Yes, I did."

He nodded, "that's what I thought. Didn't work, did it? You thought about her all the time and your work continued to suffer. But you're stubborn, you refused to quit. So you did the next best thing. You got yourself fired. And you moved away from Atlantic City. But you have never forgotten her, have you? How long from the time of your transfer until you were fired?"

"Two months," I sat, shaking my head. "How do you know?"

"Did you ever see her after your transfer?" He stood across the table from me, his head cocked to the side.

"No. I called, but she refused to speak to me. Said I had ruined her life. Finally, I just couldn't bear it any more and I stopped calling, tried not to think about her." I laid my head on my arms, hiding my tears, my weakness.

"But you never stopped thinking about her. Everything you have done since then has been with Karen in mind. Even now, she rules your life. Do you know why?" He pulled the chair over and sat down next to me.

"No." What more could I say, I had no idea why she never left my mind.

"Karen Flynn married two years ago, became Karen Bowden. Last month, she passed away, breast cancer. She left behind a husband; Jeff Bowden; and a four-year-old daughter; Stacy. Do the math, Mr. Jenkins." He cocked his head again, catching my eyes as he said this.

"Oh my God! No. Why? Why di..did she never tell me?" I lost it, my pride be damned. I broke down and cried like a baby. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know, just let me see my daughter." Sobbing, "I…I have a daughter."

I told you that the circles I ran in were influential and that is true. I gave Detectives Goren and Eames enough ammunition to destroy a small European country. The questioning went long into the night, but I survived it.

Detective Goren kept up his end of the deal. He kept my coffee cup full and he showed me pictures of my daughter that he had gotten from Karen's husband.

As I was being led out of the interrogation room the next morning, I saw Detectives Eames and Goren standing together, in deep conversation. I had a question I needed answered, so I asked the officer to stop for a moment.

"Detective Goren, " I called, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure, William," he smiled, "and I'll answer if I can."

"Was I right about you? Or were you playing me from the very beginning" I waited, my head hung from exhaustion, for his answer.

He looked down at his partner and smiled. Then, bringing that smile to bear on me, he gave me an answer I wasn't expecting. "Yes."

Not understanding his answer, I pressed harder, "to which?"

He only stood there, that grin only adding to my confusion. Fine, he can have it his way.

Smiling, I turned to Detective Eames, "Detective, you should make him say your name."

Grinning at her partner, she replied, "Don't worry, William."

I nodded to the officer, ready to lie down and get a few hours of sleep before court. I glanced over my shoulder one last time to see the Hulk and the Waif, Detectives Goren and Eames, smiling at each other, another day's work done.

A/N – Well, that was fun. I'm interested to hear what you all thought of how that turned out. That was not the ending that I had planned out, but that is the ending that wanted to be written.

Oh yes, this is my variation on a theme for the March AI fic challenge, specifically;

4 - New Guy - A new detective joins the Major Case squad. His new
partner gives him the lowdown on the other detectives and there is
plenty of gossip at the water cooler. A third person's POV on Bobby &
Alex, the rules, the rumors and the truth.

A perp's POV just seemed like more fun.