Prologue
Six months passed after the Battle of Strawberry Cove.
The blue, smokey dust kicked up by the schemes of Chief Enma, Bloop and Death-sensei finally settled, washed away by the rain. Peacekeepers from the neighboring Winningson Police Department and the National Guard deployed by the Governor finally withdrew, allowing the City to continue picking up the pieces at their own pace.
During the occupation, the trials of the schemers of the HALU attack on The City were all over the news. I bought multiple copies of the daily newspapers on that fateful week.
Seeing Chief Enma on the front pages while trying to hide her face from the camera filled me with joy like you wouldn't believe. Justice was alive and she knew how to drop the legal hammer with the full extent of the law.
In the end, Enma, along with her clowns, were thrown into Maximum Security Prison at North Elysium. It wasn't the sort of vacation-slash-retirement the ex-chief had in mind, but she had no choice but to take it.
As part of the trials, Detective Ouro and Mumei Nanashi were tried as well for their respective roles in the whole mess too. They were due to get significantly lighter sentences than Enma - a few years in regular jail.
Kiara and I, along with Ina, Subaru and all the honest cops who were at Strawberry Cove intervened. We gave evidence and first-hand testimonies and got the district attorney and the judge to commute their sentences to ninety days of community service.
By community service, I mean making amends with the various community leaders that had their worlds turned upside down by the HALU attack.
The Tempus Boys, for example, had Mumei and Kronii spend time helping them reopen their businesses or repairing their damaged equipment. Fauna, on the other hand, had the two be maids at the Mother Nature Cafe for a spell.
Rumors exist that Fauna keeps pictures of Kronii Ouro and Mumei Nanashi in maid uniforms somewhere in her records, but no one has seen them - Fauna's so-called treasures - to this day. We'll never know for sure.
After the sentence had been served, Mumei and Kronii got to walk scot free. Kronii was allowed to reapply as a Detective of City PD and Mumei was offered a spot in the fledgling 'Neighborhood Watch' along with the other Owl Pals - but neither of the two planned on staying in the City. Kronii surrendered her badge - but not the gaudy revolver with useless engravings - and made plans with Mumei to leave town.
Kiara and I gave them back their V8 convertible with our blessing. It was always Mumeis' to begin with, after all. We were happy to let them reunite with it. We even got some good discounts for some used cars over at the Owl Pals' dealership for our troubles - a two-for-one deal too!
Anyways, Kronii and Mumei finally went on that road trip that they always seemed to talk about. They left the City behind them and never looked back. Where they are now - nobody really knows.
The unmarked basket of Winningson winterberries that arrived by courier at Kiara's home out of the blue, along with clippings of a Winningson newspaper reporting about a new crime family there in a berry-smuggling operation, however, gave us a few theories.
What is it with gangsters and fruits in this country? I swear…
As for gangsters who stayed in the City, Baelz Hakos was among them - to no one's surprise.
She was there to pick up Irys Hopewell when the jazz singer was finally discharged from Eugenia Medical. Without Kronii Ouro's massive ego, the gambling rat and the jazz starlet filled the void and became darlings of the media - moreso after the couple declared that they were going to rebuild the Nephilim Jazz Club and restore it to its former glory.
We even got tickets to their soft opening on the Seventh of September - the Feast Day of our Founding Mother Tokino Sora. VIP seats too.
A little 'thank you' from Irys for helping the rat that saved her to survive Enma's storm.
For City PD after Enma, the word on the street is that Ina is in the shortlist of candidates for the new Chief of City PD. Subaru was the one who nominated her. Kiara and I gave our endorsements too. Ina nearly cried happy tears when she heard about it, but she promised to prepare herself for the massive job ahead of her if she gets chosen.
Man, Ina's grown up so fast.
And what about me and Kiara, you ask?
In a world that was changing so rapidly, a lot of things stayed the same for the two of us - aside from losing the car, that is. We still lived at Kiara's house in the Projects. We still worked as Detectives of City PD. Hell, our mission to stay embedded with the Shrimps and the Deadbeats gang continued without interruption.
We didn't have a War to stop anymore.
But we did have a new assignment - something that got hobbled together at the Eleventh hour. Chief Ina - though she doesn't want us to call her that yet - sent me and Kiara on a two-pronged operation. On the Seventh of September, we were sent to investigate the newly restored Nephilim Club on their soft opening night.
I was to arrive first. Kiara would swing by later to back me up. A good ole' one two punch, just like the good old days.
My mission?
Keep the well-dressed Queenpin of the North, Gawr Gura company before the doors to the club opened. Once again, just as I have always done, I prepared myself to do what needed to be done.
…
Outside of the Nephilim Club, on the evening of September the Seventh, Gawr Gura stood together with Amelia Watson and chuckled.
"I asked you what you were up to - and you gave me a whole freaking monologue!" Gura broke off into laughter, "You really are an adorable doofus. A real riot, Ame! Or - do you still want me to call you 'Amelon'?"
Ame, who was just as well-dressed as the shark-girl, smiled at her.
"You can call me whatever you want, sharkie~!" Ame spoke with a flirty flourish, "After all, I'm your doofus - and you're mine."
Gura blushed under the streetlights. Then, a crafty smirk formed on the Queenpin's lips.
"Call you whatever I want, huh?" Gura's neurons were activated.
She leaned against Ame and grabbed a hold of her shoulder.
"Oh nyo~ Looks like this gumshoe got lost and wandered into Shrimps territory." Gura teased playfully, roleplaying as a random gangster of the Shrimps, "I'm not interfering with police business right now, am I? I can't let her interfere with Boss Gura's plan!"
"Hmm… I wonder about that." Ame answered coolly. She brought Gura closer to herself and then cornered her against the wall, trapping the Queenpin, "But if I really am in Shrimps territory, then I might have to investigate this further."
"Investigation, huh? I like that. I'll spill the beans for ya." Gura looked straight into Ame's eyes, "I heard that the Queenpin herself - the totally not short Gawr Gura is planning to sing on stage tonight as one of Irys' guests. She's planning to knock the socks off the whole City!"
"Not the socks!" Ame gasped, feigning shock. She brought her face close to Gura's and urged, "This is a national emergency, miss Shrimp. Tell me how to support - I mean, to stop this mad-shark."
Gura grinned, continuing her charade.
"It's already too late, stinky! Boss Gura's gonna…"
Before Gura could say anything else, Ame hunched over and silenced the shorter Gura with a kiss. Gura froze. Her face went red. All of a sudden, the cheeky Queenpin was at a loss for words.
"That's… unfair." Gura blushed, unable to look Ame in the eyes anymore, "I'm the one who's supposed to..."
It turned out that it was Gura's socks that got knocked off - not the City's!
"What can I do?" Ame pressed the attack with a playful smile. She leaned towards Gura and whispered in her ear, "It's my duty to serve and protect you."
Gura's heart raced and beat hard against her chest. She wanted to say something. She eyed Ame's supple lips, eager to repay the detective for her little 'favor', but another car drove into the driveway and stole Gura's attention.
"Kikiriki~!" Kiara greeted them from the driver's seat and waved. The Phoenix's eyes found the flustered shark and she smirked, "We didn't interrupt anything here did we?"
"Not particularly." Ame acted innocently. Gura, on the other hand, jabbed her shoulder gently.
"Sorry we're late." Calli apologized. She stepped out of the car and bowed her head politely, "Kiara and I had some things to attend to at Swingwell, you see."
Ame narrowed her eyes and watched Calli with suspicion.
"It wasn't that windy tonight, was it?" Ame asked with a raised brow, "Your hair's pretty disheveled, boss."
"Is it!?" Calli panicked, "Oh shit…!"
The taller Queenpin combed her hair with her hands and her face went pale. She scrambled to find a real comb and fixed her hair in the side view mirror of the car they drove there. While she was doing so, Ame's sharp eyes caught a number of hickeys on the back of Calli's neck - just behind the high collar of her shirt.
Ame turned to Kiara, prepared to accuse her partner of 'lovingly assaulting' a civilian. Kiara, on the other hand, evaded Ame's gaze and whistled innocently.
The Phoenix didn't have to say a damn word. Ame could tell that Kiara's idea of 'serving and protecting' was far bolder than her own. She made it a point to not ask Kiara too many questions.
"Crazy Navy girls." Ame muttered beneath her breath.
"What was that?" Kiara hummed.
"Nothing!" Ame waved away the question with a smile, "Let's get inside. Irys and Bae are waiting for us!"
With that, Ame, Gura, Kiara and Calli entered the Nephilim Club side by side. Once they stepped through the doors, they were no longer detectives of City PD or Queenpins of the two most powerful gangs in town.
They were there as two couples on a double date, eager to let down their hair and take the rest and relaxation that they so richly deserved.
…
Queenpins
All That Jazz
…
The End
...
Author's Notes: AMSM KITH!?
TKMR S-
Just kidding~
Joking aside, it has been quite an experience doing daily updates for the past ten chapters, but I did learn a lot - it pushed me to get creative and make decisions on the fly. Most of the plot points here were pre-planned, but not pre-written so I experienced each chapter directly alongside you folks! What a wild ride!
It's been a pleasure writing Queenpins for you. Thank you for reading - and see you in the next project! I'll be working on both Eleven and a new project that I'll announce soon. Stay tuned, and cheers!