Authors Note: I originally wrote this story several years ago and it has been unfinished for quite some time. The main reason for this as I switched from writing in 1st person POV to 3rd person POV and I couldn't find the creative juices to finish off this story in it's original form. However, as of late, I have wanted to finish it more and more. So this is the first chapter of the re-write. I won't make any silly promises of updates at specific times, I just hope you enjoy whatever I crank out. Thank you for the support!

Carter cried out as she hit the cold, wet asphalt. The sound of her hold-up's and the flesh beneath them tearing reached her ears. A wince left her mouth but knowing she couldn't stop for anything, she pushed herself up and broke out into a run once more. The balls of her feet were burning from the heels she wore and the more she ran, the more she had to grit her teeth and push through the pain.

It had been raining for the majority of the day and the city was slick, puddles forming around overflowing gutters and blocked sewage drains, permeating the air with a distinct odour. As Carter made her way down the dark alley, she found her feet dragging through the water, her toes squelching as she tried to keep her balance. Midnight had descended upon the city but it was anything but quiet. Sirens screamed, voices yelled, music blared and bottles were being smashed somewhere in the distance. Because in true definition of it's nickname, New York never slept.

Glancing over her shoulder, Carter was filled with relief to see that she wasn't being followed. Slowing to a walk, she turned the corner out of the alley and onto the next block but found herself seized by the very person she was running from.

"Get your fucking hands off of me!" She cried out. Two large palms encircled her wrists, binding them together as she tried to fight her assailant off. He tutted under his breath at her and swiftly moved his lower body away from the heel that Carter swung out to catch him in the groin.

"Watch it with those things, sweetheart, that'll get you up on an assault charge," he grinned almost salaciously at her, practically encouraging her to try and hit him again. When she refrained from trying to kick him in the crotch again, the cop pushed her front first against the wall and twisted her hands behind her back. Crying out, Carter looked over her shoulder at him, wincing when he slapped the metal cuffs around her wrists and tightened them to the point where they were cutting into her skin. Tugging her away from the wall, he pushed her down the sidewalk towards a black Toyota Fortuner. "You sure gave me a run for my money, darling," he commented with a low whistle as he pulled the door open and shoved her in the back seat. "Guess you'll have to run faster next time," he winked and then slammed the door shut, getting into the passenger seat. His partner, who was already in the driving seat, turned to look at Carter. He was an older guy with salt and pepper hair and a thick moustache curling along his upper lip. "Little firecracker this one is," the one who caught her said.

"Blow me!" Carter hissed, turning to glare out of the window.

Carter was escorted into Midtown South Precinct in Manhattan, her arms still restrained with the cuffs but also held firmly by the one who had picked her up. He shoved her towards the desk where another cop stood. This one was smaller but had a rather large beer belly on him. His hair had seen better days; the majority of it having fallen out, leaving just some white tufts around the side. His shirt was straining to cover his considerable girth and Carter was convinced that at any minute a button would pop off and hit her square in the head.

"What's your name?" He asked, looking bored out of his mind.

"What do you want to it to be?" Carter smirked at him. He looked at her with a disinterested expression.

"This ain't the movies, sweetheart. What's your name?"

Carter rolled her eyes and then gave across all of the relevant information. She was booked and had her photograph and fingerprints taken before being thrown into a holding cell.

"This is ridiculous, I haven't done anything wrong," she protested as the cell door was shut and locked. "I'll have your badge for this," she thrust her wrists at the one who had arrested her. "That's police brutality!"

He shook his head with a small laugh and turned to walk in the other direction. Carter sighed and swivelled around to look at her surroundings. She was the only one in the cell at that moment, which was a good thing. She was soaked through to the skin and with a glance down, she groaned at the blood that was running down her leg. Taking a seat on the bench inside the cell, Carter used the cuff of her black leather jacket to swipe the blood away. The jacket itself was dripping wet and didn't do much to quell the blood flow from her scraped knee. The short black and pale pink tartan mini skirt she wore was also dripping, the water forming a small puddle at her feet. Slipping her shoes off, Carter flexed her toes and groaned when she noticed a water blister forming on her big toe.

Laying back on the bench, Carter let her shoulder length ombré hair fan out around her head. Her eyes burned with unshod tears as she thought about the rest of her friends and the events of the night. Man, she could just wring Caspar's neck! Everything that had happened was all his fault. He'd thrown that stupid party and invited over his addict friends. Carter had known it was only a matter of time before the cops arrived. She should have deserted the party a long time before that but she didn't want to leave Caspar for fear of what he'd get himself into. It was already bad enough that he took every pill and packet he could get his paws on. Carter could only wonder what other troubles he'd have gotten himself into had she not been there.

Of course, when the cops had arrived, everyone scattered and in the midst of the chaos Carter had lost sight of Caspar. So she made a run for it, not wanting to get caught but had still ended up in a jail cell.

The cell was cold and already being soaked to the skin didn't help. As the minutes passed Carter began to uncontrollably shiver, her flesh pebbled with thousands of goosebumps. A concerned voice began to reach her ears and Carter sat up, smoothing down her now damp skirt. She was completely frozen but managed to push herself to stand upright, picking up her shoes as she padded to the cell door. Looking over to the desk where she had been booked in, Carter saw a woman with long brown hair speaking to the cop behind it who had booked her in. She wore a pair of black jeans, knee-high stiletto boots, a plain white t-shirt and a black leather jacket.

"Stephanie?" Carter manage to stutter out, her teeth chattering uncontrollably.