Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters, ideas and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: This fanfiction is AU One Tree Hill; instead of Tree Hill being in North Carolina, they grew up in Manhattan, and attended a school called Tree Hill.
Warning: This story includes murder, rape, and gore from the Crime Scenes.
Chapter 1:
Aphrodite Scott checked her reflection to see if she looked presentable in the mirror placed in the elevator; she was dressed in a classy black pant suit, her golden blonde hair was tied in a high ponytail, her fringe pinned away from her face which was made up in neutral colors, and her sapphire blue eyes were beginning to lose its haunted look, although her face was a bit pale, even though she had a Californian tan from her four years living in LA.
The elevator dinged, stopping at the 34th floor, and Aphrodite walked out confidently, her high heels clicking behind her with every step she took forward to her, hopefully future boss' office.
Looking up at the closed door with a golden plaque in cursive writing: Detective Mac Taylor; she knocked lightly on the door and waited for the response telling her to enter.
Opening the door, she was greeted with a well-groomed man with stern features, light brown hair and hazel eyes. Mac Taylor looked up and gave her a tight smile, shaking her hand before offering her the empty seat.
Sighing, Mac Taylor looked down at her file that he was reading before she had knocked, he looked up at the young woman, "Aphrodite Scott, it says here that you were one of California's best detectives for a young age and that they were sad to see you leave. However, I have a brilliant hand-written note sent to me personally by Chief Wilson about you, informing me that I would be an idiot not to hire you."
"Yes sir," Aphrodite nodded politely, making Mac glance up immediately.
Turning the page of her file slightly, his voice took a serious note as he said, "I already know why you want to transfer to the NYPD and why you became a homicidal detective, but since I am to be your boss, that is if I decide to take you in, I need to hear it personally from you."
Gulping slightly, Aphrodite took in a deep breath and said, "When I was seventeen, there was a school shooting in Tree Hill High, the school I attended in Manhattan, and I was trapped in the room as a hostage with my brother, sister-in-law and friends by a fellow classmate, Jimmy Edwards. My brother managed to keep his phone on him and sent a message to our dad stating that he was the only shooter in the school. Jimmy promised that he would shoot the next person to come in when he heard the front door slam. After that, we heard two separate gunshots and Jimmy Edward was found dead … with my uncle Keith lying beside him; a fatal gunshot to his chest, where he died immediately upon impact."
Mac handed over a glass of chilled water to Aphrodite, who shakily thanked him and took a few gulps, before continuing, "It was notified by the police that Jimmy Edwards shot my uncle who entered the school to help him and then shot himself, committing suicide. My … my other brother Lucas, began remembering things about that day-"
"What do you mean 'remembering' things?" asked Mac Taylor, listening intently for the whole story.
"You see, while we were held hostage in the tutor center by Jimmy at gunpoint, my other brother ran into the school because one of my best friend's didn't make it out of the school … she was shot in the leg and hid out in the library. Lucas found her and had to take her to the hospital as she was losing a lot of blood, and Jimmy went out hearing him slam the door closed. My uncle Keith got Lucas and Peyton, who was unconscious, out of the school by keeping Jimmy's attention solely on him."
"Mmhmm, alright I got it, go on."
"Lucas began remembering things about that day that he had blocked out due to grief … like a witness that was hidden around the corner who had watched the whole scene take place between my Uncle Keith and Jimmy Edwards. Lucas kept hounding her for information and she later admitted that Jimmy didn't want help and he shot himself in front of Keith, and while my uncle Keith was holding his dead body, he didn't notice my, … my father, his younger brother, walk in until he picked up the gun Jimmy dropped and held him at gunpoint, shooting him before Keith could say another word," Aphrodite choked up slightly.
Mac couldn't say it wasn't shocking as in his career he had seen many crimes like this. Family killing family, lovers, etc…
"Abby Brown was too scared of what Dan would do if he knew her to have witnessed the event, and so after informing Lucas, she ran away with her mother, leaving town. Dan Scott ended up turning himself in due to guilt," finished Aphrodite shakily.
"And that is why you wanted to become a cop, precisely a homicide detective?" asked Mac solemnly.
"Yes. My brothers, my friends, everyone … including myself, we cursed and hated Jimmy for taking a kind soul like Keith Scott, for murdering him in cold blood when he was only trying to help. Jimmy Edwards used to be a close friend of my half-brother Lucas; but when the truth came out … I didn't want innocent people taking the blame for a crime they didn't commit; so I decided to dedicate myself into catching the true killers, and in keeping my country safe."
"That is very admirable of you. Now tell me why you want to transfer to the NYPD?"
Aphrodite was silent for a while, before taking a deep breath, "As you probably read from my file, I moved to California after graduation and signed up for the Academy. I met Justin Wilder and we fell in love instantly and we got married by my nineteenth birthday, a day later I found out I was pregnant and I had triplets. I worked harder and moved my way up with my sharp senses and observant and problem-solving skills, becoming the youngest detective in the LAPD. A few months ago, I came back from a late shift and walked in to find my husband dead, a gunshot to the head, and my children crying in a locked up room. In my grief and shock I didn't notice the killer was behind me where he had the upper hand and r-r-raped me after hitting a blunt force to my head, rendering me weak and useless."
"Take your time, you don't have to rush, we have time," said Mac gently.
Aphrodite wiped away her tears stubbornly and continued, "All we knew was that the person wanted money from my husband as he was the owner of over forty branches of Wilder hotels located several places around the world, and he wouldn't give in to the threats … I am the sole owner now and it will be passed onto my children when they come of age. However, there was a big risk of me staying alone with three two year olds and being CEO of Wilder hotels, and so I denied bodyguards, deciding to relocate to New York where I could be around family."
Mac Taylor was silent for a while as he assessed the young twenty-one year old girl; the youngest detective in history and sighed, "I will give you a chance; you have a one month trial, if you make it and I am pleased with your dedication, cooperation and skills then I will hire you permanently."
Aphrodite beamed, "Thank you sir, I appreciate you giving me a chance and I promise you I won't let you down."
"You're welcome and I'm sure you won't. However, don't call me sir, it's just Mac," Mac smiled slightly.
"Yes si-, uh, yes Mac," Aphrodite smiled.
"Your partner will be Detective Donald Flack, so head over to the police station and here are the papers to give the Chief so that they won't give you any troubles … and welcome to the team."
Aphrodite left and headed over to the New York Police Department with a smile on her face. Even though she missed California and she was still mourning over her husband, she knew that being closer to her family and friends, and transferring to New York would be good for her. She already had to see a shrink and go through therapy so she knew that she was ready.
After handing over the papers Mac had given her, they pointed her in the direction of her new partner, and she found herself facing a tall, lean and incredibly handsome man who looked to be in his late twenties with raven black hair, bright sky-blue eyes, prominent cheekbones and a hard jaw. He looked at her sternly and snapped, "Yes? Can I help you?"
"The other officers pointed me over to you," she offered him a hand to shake as she pleasantly said; "I'm Aphrodite Scott, your new partner."
Don stared at the girl in shock; she had long, golden blonde hair and striking sapphire eyes a few shades darker than his, she had soft features and such a bright smile that made him want to hurl. Looking her up and down, he noticed that she was very thin and extremely tanned, and looked to be more of a model than a detective. He then looked at the dainty, manicured-hand she held out for him to shake and scoffed.
"Yeah, no thank you Blondie, but I think I'm fine without a partner, especially one that looks late to a Barbie club meeting."
Aphrodite gasped, looking like she had just been struck and instantly withdrew her hand, "Excuse me?! How dare you – what just because I'm blonde and I'm not built like a man I can't be a detective," she snapped harshly.
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying … look Barbie I don't need a partner," he growled.
"Yeah, well, tough shit asshole! Mac Taylor assigned me to work with you, so if you have a problem then I suggest you take it up with him," Aphrodite glared daggers into his head.
"You've got to be kidding me," growled Don to himself – he couldn't believe Mac assigned her to be his partner a few months after Jess' death!
"Unfortunately I'm not. Glad to see that New York's finest is so welcoming," she snapped sarcastically, walking away from him, she turned her head towards him, "Look, I don't know what exactly your problem is … but don't take your shit out at me, you're not the only one with problems around here!"
"What, did you break a nail on your last job and decided to call it quits? Or are you having a bad hair day?" scoffed Don with a mocking smile.
Aphrodite gaped at him, "Go fuck yourself Detective Flack!"
-Aphrodite -
Donald Flack made his way over to Mac's office, not even waiting for him to allow him entry; he opened the door and began ranting at him, "Mac, what is wrong with you? How could you give me life-sized Barbie as my partner? I'm not working with her, I don't want a partner and I don't need one!"
Mac leaned back slightly in his chair, giving a stern look over at one of the best Detective's he had and said, "Are you sure the problem is with Aphrodite? Or is it the fact that you think you would be replacing Jessica?"
"Don't bring her up Mac! Just don't!" growled Don.
Mac stayed quiet, waiting for Don to calm down before he sat slumped down in a seat and rubbed his hand over his face, looking up, Don said, "Her name is Aphrodite Mac! She looks like a teenager who can't wait for the next college party … what makes you sure about her?"
Studying Don for a moment, Mac said, "You think I would assign just anybody to be your partner? I checked her credentials; I double checked all information about her. Now I can't tell you anything about her that is for you to get to know when and if she decide to tell you. But I received a brilliant recommendation from the chief of the LAPD. He had nothing but compliments to give me about her, it was … it was outstanding, and I would be a fool not to take her."
"What? Are you playing with me Mac?" Don chuckled.
Shaking his head, Mac said, "No, I'm not. Believe me, Chief Wilson fought tooth and nail to keep her in LA, but she wanted to transfer to NYPD to be closer to her family. She grew up in Manhattan."
Don scoffed, "I knew she was some rich girl. Let me guess, she grew up in the Upper East Side and inherited a huge trust fund from daddy huh?"
Mac gave Don a stern look and said, "Yes, she grew up in the Upper East Side, but I think that she would surprise you and that you would work really well together if you just give her a chance."
"No promises Mac, just, don't get your hopes up," said Don as he left the office.
Stella Bonasera walked in as Don left, raising an eyebrow she said, "What was all that about?"
"Oh, just Don ranting about his new partner," said Mac with a smile.
"Right, the one transferring from LA, how is he?"
"She, and you're gonna love this; her name is Aphrodite Scott," Mac smirked.
"Aphrodite?" Stella raised both her eyebrows now, "The Goddess of Love, Beauty and Pleasure. This is going to be good," she chuckled.
-Aphrodite-
"He is such a colossal asshole Brooke! You cannot believe how infuriating he is! He actually called me Barbie!" ranted Aphrodite angrily to her best friend Brooke Davis, where they were sitting by the bar in Tric, the club her brother Lucas Scott owned.
"Is he hot?" asked Brooke with a slight smirk.
"Oh my god B Davis, you know that it is still way too early for me! I don't think I would ever be ready to move on," said Aphrodite sadly.
"Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, we are not going there, we are going to drink and celebrate you getting into the NYPD," said Brooke, ordering two shots of tequila.
At that moment Donald Flack and Danny Messer walked into the club, and as they made their way over to the bar where they usually sat on odd days, Don froze when he saw none other than Aphrodite Scott sitting a few seats next to their regular place.
"You have got to be kidding me! What are you doing here?" he snapped at her.
Looking up, Aphrodite gaped at him, before her face morphed into a scowl, "What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" she snapped.
"I always come here after work!" retorted Don.
Danny decided to intervene, "Hey you must be the new Detective Mac told us about; I'm Detective Danny Messer I work in the crime lab," he smiled politely.
Aphrodite gave him a small smile, "It's nice to see that some people are welcoming, I'm Aphrodite, pleasure."
At that moment, Brooke came over with two shots of tequila and gave one to Aphrodite, "Drink up A Scott – woah, who are they?"
"This is Detective Danny Messer and Detective Donald Flack, my – my partner I was just telling you about," said Aphrodite through gritted teeth.
"Right, the asshole," said Brooke snarkily, making Danny snort out in uncontrollable laughter and Don to look at them in shock, "Right, pleasure."
"Yeah, enjoy your night ladies, we're just going to sit right over there," said Danny dragging Don over to their regular seat, two seats next to them and ordering a beer.
Danny and Don noticed a girl with curly blonde hair walking near them, and make her way over to Aphrodite and her friend Brooke, they were sitting so close to them that they could hear every word being spoken, which was getting on Don's nerves as he didn't want to be anywhere near her or even hear her voice.
"Damn it, I really didn't want to like her," groaned the curly blonde.
"I know, but she's great, right? Sorry," said Brooke sadly.
"Lindsey? Yeah well, I was totally rooting for you and Luke, but Lindsey makes it really tough to hate her guts," said Aphrodite apologetically.
"See? She's like a teenager, I cannot believe Mac wants her to be my partner," Don hissed at Danny.
Danny gave him an amused look, "I don't know what you are complaining about. She seems to be an honest to god nice girl and very friendly." Right at that moment, a brunette with short hair to the neck and a man with sandy brown hair joined the three girls.
"And mouth, who was that?" Aphrodite smirked.
"Oh, that's Carrie, she's the new nanny I hired for the kids," said the brunette.
"Kids, jeez she looks pretty young to be a parent," hissed Danny.
"What do you expect Danny, they're rich girls with a trust fund, probably got knocked up at a young age and took money from daddy," scoffed Don.
"Woah Don, what's your problem?" asked Danny looking at his usually kind friend in shock.
"I'm sorry. Have you lost your mind? She cannot be your new nanny?!" said Brooke in disbelief.
"Why?" asked a confused Haley.
"Well, for starters have you looked at her? She is way too hot," said Peyton simply.
"Woah, woah, woah, time out girls! Nathan would never cheat on Hales!" snapped Aphrodite beginning to look angry.
"Okay, stop stop! Why does everything have to be about looks? Maybe she's a great nanny or a great field reporter. Shouldn't that be the point and not her looks?…" all four girls look at Mouth in shock, before he says, "Besides, if Haley doesn't hire her, I won't get to see her in a bikini."
"Nice," laughed Haley.
"Damn she was hot," breathed out Mouth in awe.
"Is everything about looks? God! You sound just like my douchebag partner. Apparently he won't take me seriously because I look like Barbie!" snapped Aphrodite angrily with a glare at his direction.
"You know she makes a point Don, it's not all about her looks," said Danny in a chastising tone.
"Whatever, look at the girl. She spends her night gossiping with her friends in a bar. She's not built for a detective, Danny," said Don.
"Alright I've got to go check on Nathan and the kids you guys," said Haley as she took her purse to leave.
"I'll come with you, I've to wake up early tomorrow," said Aphrodite standing up, "Brooke, Peyton, I'll see you at home ya?" giving Mouth a hug goodbye, she walked over to Danny and said, "It was nice meeting you Detective Messer."
"Call me Danny, bye."
"Bye," ignoring Don, she looped arms with Haley and walked away.
-Aphrodite-
Aphrodite got out of her car, making her way over to the crime scene Mac had called her about. She saw a brunette with curly, slightly frizzy hair and an African American guy with her.
"You must be Detective Scott?" the frizzy brunette said with a smile, "I'm Detective Stella Bonasera, but you can call me Stella."
"And I'm Detective Sheldon Hawkes, just Sheldon though," the African American smiled.
"Well you all know me," said Aphrodite with a chuckle, "Just call me Aphrodite. And yes, that is my real name," she laughed as she noticed the look of disbelief on Sheldon's face. "What do we have here?"
"Mac and Danny didn't get a name. No I.D. on the body. COD is exsanguinations. Fatal gunshot was here to the carotid artery. Second shot pierced her deltoid here," explained Sheldon, looking up at the amused look on Aphrodite's face he said with a little smile, "What?"
Shaking her head, Aphrodite said, "It amazes me how just on instinct you know which shot was first."
Chuckling, Sheldon said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Well, this is her bloody handprint, and it appears that she grabbed her shoulder in pain," he said while indicating with his hands on the body without touching her.
"And in order to transfer the blood, she had to be already bleeding … huh," said Aphrodite with a smile.
"Exactly," Sheldon smiled satisfied, "Now, I'm brilliant, but sometimes I get a little help."
"Well, let's hope we get a lot of help. If the bullets we extract from these wounds are a match to the ones we recovered from the bar, it'll be out first lead in a month that can point," said Stella.
Another Crime Scene with Don and Mac:
"I thought you were on a leave of absence, I was going to send out for Aphrodite, she just informed me that she finished with Sheldon and Stella," said Mac with a frown as he looked at Don. "You're not supposed to be on the field for a while just desk job."
Scoffing, Don said, "I was, but I thought Barbie to be too inexperienced so I came instead," ignoring the disproving look from Mac, he said, "We got a missing security guard. Albert Pelton, 28 years old. worked the night shift. Hired just two days ago. And this here is the playback of the surveillance video. There's where you and Danny entered the building, flashed your badges, gained easy access. Still no evidence of our Jane Doe entering the building."
"What about the shooter?" asked Mac.
Yelling at one of the officers, Don said, "Hey, can we get a playback up on this one again? Thanks." As the video played, Don spoke in the background, "Shooter came right in the front door. Albert pursues. Perp knocks him down and heads for the elevator. That's the last visual we have on either of them."
"Means the shooter left the building through the other door," said Mac, looking around at his surroundings.
"Right," Don nodded, "And security is rounding up all the surveillance footage and sending it to the lab, but I don't know which cameras were working, and some areas don't have cameras at all. It's fairly new space," Don informed him.
"Tell them to start with the elevator," said Mac.
"Uh, no camera in the elevator," said Don matter-of-factly.
Two days later:
"I still can't believe you are my partner," scoffed Don shaking his head as he got out the car, "Look princess, why don't you just wait for me in the car while I get Menlo."
"Uh, yeah how about no!" yelled Aphrodite, getting out from the passenger seat, "I'm your partner Flack! I'm a detective, treat me as such!" blocking the way to their suspect, Tyson Menlo's apartment, Aphrodite glared at Don and said, "Right now, we have a job, we gotta capture the perp. So whatever problem you have with me, put it aside and deal with it later, and not when we are going to capture a probably armed killer!"
"Fine!" growled Don with gritted teeth, shoving Aphrodite aside to knock on the door, "NYPD, Menlo! We got a warrant." Opening the door he noticed another guy holding Tyson Menlo at gun point, "Drop the gun! Put the gun down!"
Aphrodite rolled her eyes as she noticed Don edging in front of her to protect her, and so she kept a huge distance away from him – she was a detective Damnit! Not some weak damsel in distress that needed saving!
"Come on Jake, you don't want to do this man. It was Dave who killed Risa! I wouldn't do that, man. You gotta believe me."
"Put the gun down!" demanded Aphrodite alternating her gun to point at both Tyson and the man she supposed to be Jake.
"He killed my sister!" Jake roared at Don and Aphrodite.
"And we'll do something about it, you don't have to," promised Don calmly.
"She was just trying to help. Risa was just trying to help, that's all," cried Jake.
Risa Calaveras was the Jane Doe from her first crime scene in New York, and although Aphrodite would want to shoot the son of a bitch, she knew that it wasn't their job to punish the guilty by killing. So she took a step closer, ignoring Don's warning glare and said, "I'm sure she wouldn't want you to get into any more trouble, Jake. She wouldn't want you to do something stupid."
Shaking his head desperately, Jake said, "It's too late."
"No, no," cried Tyson.
"It's too late," repeated Jake with more confidence.
"Jake, don't do it," said Aphrodite warningly.
[GUNSHOT FIRED]
"Get down! Get down now! On your knees," roared Don as Aphrodite quickly tackled Jake from the side, kicking the gun from his hands and handcuffed him. Pulling Jake Calaveras up, she snarled at Don, "Next time, protect yourself, I'm no damsel in distress and I can take care of myself, princess," she sneered, dragging Jake out and leaving Tyson's body with a dumbfounded Detective Donald Flack.
-Aphrodite-
Aphrodite was in the interrogation room with Mac Taylor, upon his request, as they questioned Jake Calaveras.
"It was all just talk, at first. Then Wilson came up with this idea. What if we made the city work for us? You know? He used the word "ransom." I thought he was joking. But they kept talking about it. Doing something, again and again and again, and having the city pay us to stop," said Jake.
"Why, Jake? To what end?" asked Mac.
"Dave said because we could. Just… because we could," cried Jake.
Aphrodite knew that Mac wanted her in the interrogation room with him to test her, and not wanting to let him down or think she was only good at pointing and shooting a gun, she walked forward and spat, "Because you could? Is that what I should tell the family of the bartender who died? Or all the people who were injured? Is that what I should tell my fellow detective who is sitting in a wheelchair?"
Mac looked on approvingly.
Jake looked desperate now, "Hey, they didn't know there were cops in the bar. They were just looking for someplace that was crowded."
"You keep saying "they" Jake. Don't you mean, you, Tyson and Wilson?" demanded Aphrodite using her scary face and the glare she had perfected from watching Dan Scott, back then when she wanted to be powerful like daddy.
"No, cause I didn't got that night. I didn't," said Jake adamantly. "Risa didn't want me to."
"Your sister thought you were in that car," said Mac simply, gauging his reaction.
"I know, I should have called her. But I was pissed off. Okay? I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing it really did matter what she said."
"But she was there Jake, she was in the bar," pressed Aphrodite.
"She had nothing to do with this, if that's what you're thinking. She was there for me, to stop me. And it only made it more dangerous for the both of us. Wilson and Tyson came after us. They thought we'd go to the cops. I didn't think they'd … I didn't think they'd kill her," Jake began sobbing in earnest as he tearfully said, "I didn't think they'd kill her. Damn it, I told her not to go!"
Mac motioned for Aphrodite to leave the interrogation room with him, but before she left, she turned around one last time to look at Jake and said, "She was there for you, Jake. Her only concern was you."
Walking outside they saw a disgruntled-looking Flack waiting for them, Mac looked at her and smiled, "Good job, Detective Scott."
Don glared at Aphrodite's smug smile as Mac walked away.
Barely sparing Flack a glance, she said, "See ya tomorrow partner."