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Cooper has a map of Twin Peaks and the surrounding environs sitting on the table in front of him. Maps are a good thing to study.

Unfortunate, isn't it, that the map is not always the territory.

There is an absence of coffee.

Who am I trying to kid. Of course there's a cup of coffee. A damn fine one.

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"I like the idea of knights enforcing the rules," Cooper muses.

Meg mentioned Alanna, as it happens.

Clarice's words are another mark in her favor.

A thoughtful smile.

"I never really thought of it that way, I guess. I mean, I've heard a few stories, but I've never thought of Alanna as a knight, exactly."

"Knights," says Cooper, punctuating the word with his fork, "are sacred warriors. Samurai, shambhala, certain Native American cultures -- the same figure appears over and over."

"What do you think we are, Clarice?"

Fidelity, bravery, integrity.

Clarice smiles slightly.

"You got me there."

"I did?"

Cooper looks...a little lost. "I didn't mean to."

Clarice shakes her head.

"I just mean that it's a good point."

His smile is a little rueful; it makes him look young. "It was an honest question -- and one I'd still like to hear your answer to."

Oh.

Well.

Clarice frowns.

"I've always believed it's our job to help people ...

"But I've never connected it with any sort of warrior heritage."

"Is our job connected with any kind of tradition at all?"

"Well, sure."

A pause.

Aside from the job itself, she's not sure what sort of traditions those might be.

He's silent for a moment.

"Are we agents? Or are we lawmen -- and lawwomen?"

Clarice frowns.

"Lawmen first."

But she's not sure that she's always been a lawman-- lawwoman-- before she's been anything else.

It's a slow smile that spreads and lights up his face.

"I think so, too."

She smiles back.

"Good to know."

His expression grows more abstracted.

"Clarice? Can I tell you something?"

The change doesn't escape her.

This is not at all to say that she understands it.

"Sure, Cooper."

"A few days ago I was suspended for misfeasance." Pause. "There was also an attempt to frame me for three deaths, and drug trafficking. Cocaine."

... What?

Clarice knows nothing's funny, but even so, she nearly laughs-- it's that ridiculous.

"Glad to hear you've been keeping busy."

Or kept busy, by the sound of it.

She sobers.

"Why would anyone want to frame you?"

Unless it was him. That man, the one who hurt Cooper's friend-- he might be one.

"Because a man believed I was responsible for the deaths of his two brothers, and he had friends who were well-placed."

Pause.

"The Bureau has dropped the charges, and I've yet to be reinstated, though I expect that will change soon." Cooper speaks evenly, thoughtfully. "This episode has made me question my place in the Bureau, though."

Clarice doesn't understand what place Cooper would've had to be in at what time to get him suspected of murder.

But she remembers about the Bureau: You fall in love with it, but it doesn't fall in love with you. You're always expendable. Always recyclable.

That's why the system works.

"How so, specifically?"

"When I joined the Bureau, I did so because I thought it was the strongest statement I could make about the kind of person I wanted to be."

His fingers run over the map, brushing over the sheriff's station.

"In my time in Twin Peaks, I have been witness to a way of life that I thought had vanished from the earth. The citizens by and large conduct themselves with great consideration for the dignity of their fellow man, and there is a deep respect and care for life that you can't find anywhere else."

"I'm not sure the Bureau is capable of understanding this any more. Much less preserving it. And I am questioning the kind of statement I am making with my service."

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