A/N: Well I am really anxious to get this story started. Why? Because I dreamt up the plot one night and made sure I stayed still so I would remember it! Of course, I did some editting and expanded it. So here it is, Framed.
Sirens were blaring as a rush of officials surrounded the scene. The caution tape around the lake began to attract the attention of everyone and law enforcements were having trouble to keep people back. It enclosed the area and an ambulence was on stand by. Whispers and theories were exchanged as the gossip spread like wildfire: a rich woman killed off for her money, a mafia member who failed to pay their dues, a suicidal woman whose lover left her, a high school prank on a new student gone wrong, etc. Only one fact remained true, though. The death was untimely and the victim was, in fact, an unfamiliar, young woman.
"Is she who I think she is?" one of the officers asked the other as another officer in a diving suit pulled out the body from the water. It was dripping wet and a couple of the officers examined the body. The body was as pale as ice and so cold, it practically burned, but the face looked like it was at peace. The victim couldn't possibly have been past her early twenties, and from what they could determine, she was quite the looker. She had a white dress with two thick straps. The end of the dress ended a few inches before her knees and the top embraced her upper body and, although it was not that daring, it was somewhat low and curved to accentuate her chest. Of course, she was soaked, so her dress now hugged every bit of skin it could. She had long, dark, auburn hair and matching brown flats. Her body was well defined and thin, yet still extremely feminine. It had no visible damage or sign of decomposing, so the death had to have been recent.
"Shit. This is bad. Call the Chief of Police. Get the specialists, while you're at it." The man said as he examined the victim's face.
"Man, he's not going to like this." the officer said as he took out his phone and dialed.
Aim. Shoot. Repeat. Sakura performed this ritual like it was applying shampoo. She was in her own little world in the shooting range. She had black, leather finger-less gloves on, a black tank top, and olive green shorts. With her earmuffs to shield her from any outside noise, she unloaded her pistol onto a target chart 100 feet away. She alternated between the heart and the brain, a fatal hit each time. She was in the prime of her youth at 23 and was one of the most respected agents in the force. With long, honey brown hair and a thin figure, she was every guy's fantasy.
"Sakura-chan!" a voice yelled into the firing range. It belong to Rika, Sakura's secretary. Since Sakura was wearing earmuffs, she just kept going. Rika brushed a strand of her wavy hair behind her ear and slowly approached her boss. She knew how Sakura got when she was in the middle of these episodes. Rika's heels clicked against the floor as she continued to advance. Like always, she was dressed very professionally with a black pencil skirt and a button up, pink top with ruffles. In her hand was a manila folder.
"Sakura-chan?" Rika said as she poked her leader on the shoulder. Sakura broke from her trance and spun around, finger still on the trigger, which was pointed to Rika's forehead. Once she processed the scene before her, Sakura returned her gun to a strap on her thigh and apologized to the rattled Rika.
"So what brings you here during my training sessions?" Sakura asked with a raised brow and arms folded across her chest. Her voice was soft and reassuring, though.
"Well, apparently, something big happened that involved the real big shots and they want you to cover it." Rika said as she looked through the papers in the folder. She licked her finger and pulled out a photo of a girl.
"Attractive girl. What does she have to do with anything?" Sakura said as she slipped the paper out of Rika's hands and reviewed the girl's picture. The cerulean eyes stared into the camera with such a soft, yet alert intensity.
"Amaya Li. She's one of the top agents in Japan. She has been trained since she was a kid. Apparently, she was a part of a group of selected kids that were bred and raised for the secret service. Her body was found in Lake Kouhei last night. Most likely a homicide." Rika explained as she handed Sakura the folder. Sakura opened it and reviewed the girl's profile. She's been on more cases than the members of Sakura's team have combined and had awards Sakura didn't even know existed. All in all, she was impressive. They exited the firing range and began to walk back to Sakura's office.
"I told you, I didn't do it!" an amber eyed man insisted. Although he was just 25, stress has worn him out. He had a distressed look on his face and heavy eye bags. He had a slight stubble from lack of shaving and his hair was unrulier than usual. He had a godly built, but slouched as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders. He was in an empty room with a single overhanging lamp and a table with a few chairs; it was a typical interrogation room. He kept glaring at the two-sided mirror, fully aware that people were taking notes and talking behind it. In the room was two other men, both middle aged. They had early wrinkles and no expressions on their face. One was chubby and balding, while the other was thin and had many silver strands.
"We know you did it, Syaoran. The dress still had a tag. We tracked it down and the transaction was made with your card. Don't tell me you didn't make it, because the signature was valid and the security cameras confirmed that you bought the dress. There's no point in hiding. Plus, your wife was missing for a week and you didn't say anything. Then she turns up dead?" the chubby man bellowed at Syaoran. His hands slammed on the table, but Syaoran didn't budge. Syaoran continued to look down and remained silent.
"But I loved her." Syaoran mumbled, refusing to look up.
"What? Just because she was your wife, we're supposed to believe you? You guys even work for the same people and are of the same rank! That brings up countless possible motives! Did you want more power, so you eliminated competition? Or were you having an aff-" the thin man said, but was interrupted by Syaoran.
"I LOVED HER." Syaoran exclaimed forcefully, finally looking up and glaring at each of them. The men sighed and left the room. They knew they couldn't get anything out of him at that rate. Moments later, an alarm sounded and everyone rushed back into that room. Their top suspect escaped.
"And why do they want me to do it? I rank lower than her." Sakura questioned as she reviewed the recorded details of the crime scene.
"Well, she was in a high position and was quickly rising, so anyone above her was could be a suspect. Also, our team is the best Japan can offer." Rika winked at her as she opened a door for the distracted Sakura. Inside was a large desk to the right of the door and a hall which had various rooms.
"Naoko! Tomoyo! Yukito! Chiharu! Yamazaki! Front and center!" Sakura yelled as she flung the folder onto the wooden desk. Within seconds, everyone was there and lined up like it was a boot camp. As always, Naoko was in the front, Tomoyo was second, Yukito was third, and Chiharu and Yamazaki were next to each other. How the order was established was a mystery, but they consistently did it anyway. The phone on Rika's desk began to ring, so she quietly tip toed to her desk.
"Naoko, get me warrants to this Amaya Li's home and office, as well as the scene and her body. Tomoyo, examine anyone who could have been threatened by her existence. Yukito, work with Tomoyo and see what information you can dig up about them. Chiharu and Yamazaki, wait for the warrants before going to the crime scene. Find anything peculiar or useful. Then examine the corpse. Is everyone understood?" Sakura commanded as she walked down in front of them. She was definitely not taller than any of them and she had a small frame, but her authoritativeness made up for it. Although she was strict in the office, they all knew about her kindness and friendly nature. These traits were what gave them so much faith in her in the first place.
"Sakura-chan?" Rika interrupted. Sakura whipped her head to the side to give an indication that she heard.
"That was the person that put us on the case. Their top suspect managed to escape. His name was Syaoran Li." Rika continued.
"I don't care about what they've determined. All I care about is finding the truth." Sakura nonchalantly waved before starting to walk towards a door with her name on it.
"But Sakura, they're very high up in rank and they insist that your main priority is catching this guy. They say that they know it's him. They just need to get him to confess."
"If they need him to confess, they don't have enough evidence. If they want me to find him, fine, but my top priority is the truth." Sakura stated before slamming her door. Rika took in a large breath, but, before she could exhale, Tomoyo appeared next to her out of nowhere.
"Syaoran Li, is it?" Tomoyo asked, making Rika jump, suddenly aware of the new presence. Tomoyo was in a purple blazer and a white tank top. She was also wearing matching purple slacks and black pumps. Her hair was in a neat pony tail and her eyes gleamed with an exotic mix of purple and grey.
"Yes, he's her husband." Rika responded as she nodded slowly. Tomoyo just brought her hand to her chin and began to think. As one of Japan's top psychologists, she was already formulating a profile on him. She began to tap her chin and walked away. Her heels clacked and her elegance always managed to linger in the room. Rika sighed and walked back to her desk. This was going to be a long case.
"Yukito!" Tomoyo's sing songy voice called into a cramped office. She poked her head in and assessed her surroundings. The professional hacker was quite the hoarder. The only real free space was the one in the way of the door and there were no real lights. Other than that, gadgets of all sorts bordered the room and chords stuck out of them. All of them had screens of some sort which displayed different maps and information. All the chords tangled together and lead to a single laptop in the center left of the room. Behind it was the famous security cracker happily typing away on the couch. The screen illuminated his face as he looked up and smiled at his guest. His 6'2" height was not so obvious that moment, since he was slouching so much, but he was the picture of health. Hidden under his loose button up was an impressive medium build. Since he spends most of his time on the computer or eating, how he got that build is a mystery to most people.
"Ah, Tomoyo! Come in!"
"I see you still don't work on your desk." Tomoyo said with a raised brow as she looked at his desk. Ironically, it's the only neat part of his office. Only a stack of paper and sharpened pencils were laid there. Yukito looked over and gave a good natured laugh as he adjusted his glasses.
"Well, you must be in here for some reason. What do you need?" he grinned at her. Tomoyo smiled back at his friendly nature. It was always so comforting.
"I need the information taken in the room Syaoran Li was interrogated and kept in before his escape. Also, I need all the information about the couple. School, training, relationship, occupation, basically their entire lives. Can you get it for me in an hour?" Tomoyo sweetly asked. Yukito looked up and tapped his chin.
"Hm. Well, it's a covert building, one of the most heavily guarded in Japan, so no doubt would there be a huge firewall. Yeah, I can do it!" Yukito chirped before typing away. Tomoyo giggled at his confidence and exited the room. She, then, spun on her heel and made her way to Sakura's office.
"Sakura-chan?" Tomoyo said as she tucked her hair pin back into her hair. Of course, picking locks is frowned upon and is beneath Tomoyo, but she was just so good at it! Also, Sakura is always too preoccupied in the mind at the beginning of a case, so there was no other immediate way into Tomoyo's boss' surprisingly childish office. The office's walls were a slight tint of pink and gave it an innocent feel, coupled with the white carpet, roof, and furniture. The wall opposite to the door had various degrees and awards hung surrounded by pictures of families and friends. To the left was a desk with two plush, white modern chairs in front of it and slightly disheveled filing cabinets next to it. To the right was a huge map covered with various post it notes, light lighter markings, colored pen markings, shapes, news paper articles, colored yarn, and pictures. In front of it was the fearless, yet childish, leader herself.
"Oh, Tomoyo. Didn't notice you come in." Sakura mumbled as she turned her head, then back towards the map. She was tapping her chin with a pen as she analyzed the map.
"Sakura-chan, you can't seriously believe that the answer is up there, can you?" Tomoyo asked as she placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder, who was tippy toeing to write some more notes to the already complex map. Sakura sighed and faced Tomoyo.
"No, and that's the thing. There are no connections whatsoever, so I have no leads on this. This woman was a top agent. She's a killing machine. She's been trained to deal with top criminals since birth. We have no idea who we're up against, but clearly, they're good." Sakura explained as she crossed her arms and made her way towards her desk. She leaned on it and looked up. For once, she felt like a rookie and that made her uncomfortable. Tomoyo frowned and examined the map.
"Well, didn't they say she was shot in the chest multiple times?" Tomoyo brightly asked as she traced her finger over the yarn paths.
"Yes, but that method is so common! All the murders through that are from different killers of different skill levels. Collectively, there's no connection between all of them too, so there's no possibility of a group." Sakura explained. Clearly, she thought it through already and Tomoyo was aware of that. Then, Sakura realized what she was doing and smiled.
"See? You still got it. Don't doubt yourself. You know what you're doing." Tomoyo grinned at her.
"I get it, Tomoyo. What are you in here for, anyway?" Sakura inquired.
"Nothing! I just wanted to check on you." Tomoyo chimed as she skipped out of the office. Sakura laughed at her best friend, fully knowing that 'nothing' meant I already found out, and went back to her desk with the file in her hand.
"Closing time!" Rika yelled into the offices hours later. This was followed by the sound of closing drawers and shuffling of paper, before being followed by everyone meeting up at the door. Among them, Sakura was the last.
"So where are we off to, chief?" Naoko chirped as they all walked out of the building. Despite the rigidness of the office, they were all friends. Sakura shrugged at her friends/co-workers as she locked the door behind them.
"Oh, come on, Sakura! Big, new case means big, new money!" Chiharu beamed at them and they all laughed at the comment. There was this unsaid understanding between all them; they were all among the best at what they do and they all have seen things that changes people. This connection allowed the pack to move as one, since it's like no one else would understand them.
"Fine, fine. Let's go to that new Chinese place down the street! I heard that it's pretty good." Sakura suggested. Everyone commented in agreement and decided on the meeting place. Once they all got there, they moved as a pack again, with Sakura as the leader. They were greeted by teenage waiters and waitresses who, like all waiters and waitresses, seem all too happy to be working took their seats and ordered as Yamazaki told his infamous stories. Everyone but Yukito, who was listening in amazement, was groaning at the exaggeration. Chiharu, in particular, was the most annoyed and grabbed Yamazaki by the ear to shut him up. Sakura laughed and turned her attention towards a television on the wall. The murder case was already on the television, followed by news of murders of important people in Japan and America. Sakura sighed as she sipped the cheap tea the waitresses poured them. Their order came in, but not before a particularly interesting character interrupted Sakura's train of thoughts.
"Sad, isn't it?" a female with shockingly intense ruby red eyes asked Sakura.
"Hoe?" Sakura blinked at she looked at the black haired woman in the table parallel to her. She couldn't possibly have been older than Sakura, yet she was eating alone with a book at hand like an old widow. The woman just smiled at her.
"The murder of the girl. Such a shame. She was so young." the woman explained and softened her expression. She momentarily averted her attention back to her book, but only to place a bookmark and put it down.
"Yeah, I guess so." Sakura shrugged. She's seen worse. She's seen the corpse of rape victims. She's seen the corpse of mere children. She's even seen the corpse of a pregnant woman in her prime. There was so much she saw because of her line of work. Sure, the death of a young woman is sad, but Sakura's built up immunity made her indifferent. To her, it was just another case.
"You guess so? Why, she probably wasn't any older than you!"
"Well, let's just say that I've seen things that people aren't supposed to see." Sakura imply stated before eating again. The group did notice the conversation, but brushed it off as they included Sakura back into the conversation.
"Haven't we all?" the woman whispered into Sakura's ear as she left money on the table and made her way out, leaving an aura of mystery lingering in her path.
A/N: Well? What do you guys think? Like I said, I'm really excited about this one so hopefully, you guys are too! Review please!