Uiharu was a good cop. She was smart and determined with a strong sense of justice that wouldn't let her stray from the path until justice was done. Her powerful moral compass kept her strong and pure even in this city of darkness and corruption, yet unlike so many other lawmen I knew she was not insufferably preachy about the matter nor was she arrogantly holier-than-thou about it. She was easy to talk to and made people feel comfortable, a rare skill among law enforcement, one I certainly did not possess.
But she would never be a great cop. She was far too naive and she had hardly any street smarts at all. Perhaps with time I could have taught her how to overcome these things, but even then who knows how that might have turned out. Her naivety was a big part of her, and I'm not sure it would be a good thing to change it even if I could.
This time, however, her lack of street smarts had probably saved her. If she had known where to find Saten I know she would have gone to confront her. If that had happened all those traits that made Uiharu a good cop would surely have gotten her killed. Her dedication to finding the truth and getting justice would have made her an obstacle to the mob that they couldn't have ignored. Her moral compass meant that all attempts at bribery or blackmail would have failed, leaving murder as the only method for getting her off their backs.
I'd dealt with the mob before and had enough wits and cunning to get out alive. I knew when to give up and when to press them. Whether on the street or in the interview room I knew how to talk to them. And, more important for this moment, I knew how to find them.
It was not very hard for me to figure out. After all, mobs were little more than criminals who were more successful and organized than most. I dealt with criminals for years and I knew that they tended to stick to the darkness and shadows, no amount of success or wealth would change that. The only thing it would change is how well they chose to live in that darkness.
To find a wealthy criminal I simply needed to look for a jewel amongst the pebbles and dirt, a speck of gold inlaid within the steel. And in this part of the city there were two such buildings.
One was The Love Well and, while certainly a place where I could find successful criminals spending their time if I looked for them, it was probably not the spot where I could find Saten. No, that honor belonged to this place, Posogante, an italian restaurant where a single decoration was worth several months rent on any other place in the neighborhood in which it resided.
I stood in front of it, looking at the bustling exterior. Considering how late it was it was surprisingly busy, and the light from the electric lamps that lit it spilled into the street. It was far too warm and bright for the darkness of this neighborhood of ours. But its front of luxury and light was nothing but a facade that hid the darkness of its patrons. It was a place of lead as much as gold.
It was not the place someone should walk into unarmed. My hand went to my hip, my finger ran along the barrel of my S&W 29, feeling the word "RAIL" that was engraved on the metal, a tradition of mine that dated back years. It was a new gun, sleek and powerful and eager for its first firefight.
I was desperately hoping it would not come to that however as I tucked it away from sight and entered the door of the place.
The maitre d' looked at me as I walked in. He bowed his head, "good evening ma'am. Do you have a reservation?"
I raised an eyebrow at him and glanced down at my watch. "I believe Saten Ruiko mentioned having a table ready for us at around this time," I stated in a casual but impatient tone, as if I was meant to be there and this man was keeping me from my business. As far as he knew he was.
Buying my deception immediately he bowed again and gestured to the side. "Of course madam, your table is ready in the private dining room just over there."
Half of the restaurant was composed of private dining rooms, where the mobsters who frequented this place could escape the ears of the other mobsters who dined here and conduct their business in secret. Because of this I had only the direction of the man's gesture to guide me as I confidently weaved through the tables while, in the background, the lilting swells of french horns played a somber tune. It was like the music one would waltz to in a funeral.
I got to the door and found myself hesitating. A deception had gotten me this far, but though I had pretended I was supposed to be here the fact was I wasn't. I might be interrupting a meeting already going on, and if that happened this particular lead would dry up at best and kill me at worst.
Was the money and the sex I would get from this job really worth the risk?
...No. It probably wasn't. So why wasn't I just giving up here and now? Was it sentiment for the work I used to do? Or was the thirst for justice I thought had long died out flaring up again?
Whatever it was it made me twist the knob and step into the room. The heavy wood swung closed behind me, shutting out the music and turning this room into an isolated world where simple things like law and morality wouldn't stop the bullets from flying if I misspoke.
My eyes fell upon the occupants of the room. There were three other people. Two large, gorilla like men in nice suits with tommy guns nestled comfortably in their grip, ready to turn on me in a second. Their muscles were tensed, their gaze steady and cautious.
All of this was in complete contrast to the third person, sitting in the chair between them. She was completely relaxed. Her freshly shined dress shoes were propped up on the table and her fedora, embedded with a daisy and pin-stripped to match her suit, was tilted down to hide the woman's eyes. A cigar, imported, expensive, stuck out of her mouth. I could smell the thick aromatic smoke trailing from the ember at the end.
This person was comfortable here. Unlike me she had been born into the darkness and it had treated her right. The violence that so many feared was merely an opportunity to her. She didn't revel in it but she was far more comfortable with blood than most people had any right to be.
She tilted her hat up with a finger to look at me and I saw her eyes. Her eyebrow raised curiously and a slight grin played upon her lips. "Well well, it seems we have a guest. Who might you be to interrupt Saten Ruiko of the Perizioute family on this peaceful night?"
Lies had gotten me here but they were not the way to proceed. "I am Misaka Mikoto, Private Investigator. I was hired by a certain woman to investigate the death of a prostitute who was killed tonight in an alley off Kagaku road. A person told me that you may know what happened to her."
The woman chuckled as her chair fell back onto all four legs as her feet lowered back to the floor. She leaned forward and favored me with that same coy smile. "A private dick eh? Well if that was a veiled accusation," she began as she pulled a baseball bat out from under the table, "then I can honestly say I haven't had much opportunity for 'batting practice' recently. And a hooker certainly isn't my ideal batting partner anyway."
"It wasn't an accusation, I'm merely looking for a lead. Besides, it was more target practice than batting practice actually. A bullet clean through her head," I prompted. I was fully aware of the woman's predilection for her Mickey Mantle autographed baseball bat when it was time for her to personally teach a lesson. But that didn't mean that she hadn't ordered the attack.
The gangster rolled her eyes, then she shrugged, "nah. You see that's not my style. I dabble in streetwalkers but I prefer them without extra holes. I'm not known as the type to dole out information either. So the question becomes why someone would point you to me. Who exactly did you get this information from?" Her glare turned cold. Those who were willing to rat on the mafia were hardly known for their long and prosperous lives. It was why I had not revealed any names in the beginning.
"Just a person on the street who says they see you in the area a lot," I said. I doubted the woman would appreciate my vagueness, but I could hardly leave Uiharu high and dry.
A small smile tugged at Saten's lips. "You said this... tragedy happened tonight. This is a risky lead to pursue so quickly unless it came from a trusted source. No criminal would be ignorant enough to lead you here. I'm guessing it was one of them boys in blue," the smile grew larger as she lifted her bat and tapped it gently against my cheek, the cold hard wood a reminder of who was in charge here, "tell me, does it happen to be a short little cop with a bouquet of flowers on top of her head?"
This was not good. Uiharu's identity had been exposed. This was exactly why I hadn't wanted her here. My eyes darted between the three people. Three bullets from my RAIL-gun were all it would take for her anonymity to be restored. But that created so many other problems. It was my last resort. For now all I could do was play it cool. "Impressive deduction," I complimented her, "perhaps you should be the private eye here."
She shook her head, "Investigation's fun, but it's not a job. Not a lucrative one anyway. So what did officer flowerhead tell you about me hmmm? Did she mention how charming and handsome I am?"
I sighed, no point in playing dumb now. "Just that you look like a troublemaker and she sees you way too often for you not to be up to something."
The smile dropped away from her face and the bat dropped away from mine. "That's it? She sees me too much?"
"Don't worry boss, that doesn't mean that she isn't happy to see you," one of Saten's bodyguards hurriedly spoke up.
"And looking like a troublemaker can be a good thing. Lots of people like the bad girl look," the other one said.
"But I've been wooing her for a while now. I thought she'd have something else to say at least," the mobster sighed.
"Wooing?" I asked, surprised.
"Ever since I first laid eyes upon her and flipped that silly police woman skirt of hers I knew she was the gal for me. Determined, cute, and shy all at once, she's totally my type. But I've never been good at first impressions, so I guess the feeling is far from mutual," Saten raised her eyebrow at me, "you a friend of hers?"
"Yes," I answered cautiously. Though this route was unexpected it was a blessing. Uiharu was safe for now, but I still had to be careful.
"So if I had a little information regarding your case you'd put in a good word for me with her?"
"I thought you weren't the person to go to for information."
"I'm not the person people come to for information, but that doesn't mean I don't have lots of it," she grinned. "After all, you're not the only one with some girl problems."
"What do you mean?" I questioned her. It seemed like this lead might not be the dead end I had believed it to be. Saten was in the prostitute business as well, so perhaps she was having similar trouble. If that was the situation and if she was willing to give me some info I might just be able to figure out this case yet.
"Tell me, in addition to this one that's punched her ticket have any of this 'certain person's' girls gone missing?" Saten began.
"Yes they have," I recalled Kuroko's words and all of a sudden I had a very bad feeling about all of this. It was as the city's darkness was creeping up on me yet again.
"Well I've not had any girls turn up cold but certainly a couple have not turned up at all. And it just so happens to have started right around the time a certain woman came to town. A dangerous woman with a certain reputation. Death follows her like a cloud. I've been tempted to go after her myself but the boss has forbid it. Even he isn't immune to the danger she poses after all," Saten stated solemnly.
A chill involuntarily traveled up my spine at her words and I found myself asking, "how dangerous is she?"
"Three husbands and two entire crime families have fallen before her. And those are just the ones I know of. Only God knows how many skeletons she actually has in her closet."
I clenched my hands into fists. "Where can I find her?"
"I hear she's been employed as a lounge singer in Hotel Malta. Her name... is Shokuhou Misaki."
Author's Note: It's amazing how a world of black and white can have such colorful characters. The mobster Saten and the lounge singing Shokuhou were fun characters to write. It's kind of interesting how the weakest character of the group in terms of level is probably the most powerful of the four in this story. Certainly it's great to have her immense confidence backed up by something.
And speaking of black and white... I'm not sure if you noticed but I've tried to recreate the feeling of film noir in this fic by never referencing anything by color. In fact I'm trying to avoid using any color in the fic at all, even if it's only part of an expression like "seeing red" or "feeling blue" or something like that. It's harder than you'd think but also surprisingly easy. I had a little debate over whether or not I should use black or white, but I figured that it'd be fine if I just used pale or dark or light or things like that instead to preserve my colorless record.
Oh, and be sure to fave and follow this story if you're liking it so far.
