Scarlet Lady: The Toshin Quest
By Indigo Siren
Disclaimer: Tekken is © to Namco, and that all characters mentioned from under this label are only used in this fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from this story; it is just for fun. I do however own the basic concept and characters of my own creation.
Chapter 1
12 years later… Autumn, 2015.
New York City was one of the most vibrant, lively cities in North America. From dawn till dusk the life of the streets would always have a major presence and be made known too, even in the late hours of night. Even after a long day of labour, the menial workers of the city would gather in their local bars, kicking back to enjoy a good drink and to chat to their friends. This was especially the activity in one small bar in a quiet part of the city. From behind the closed door, the faint hum of music could be distinctly heard, and also the many muffled voices that played background to the jukebox.
Inside, the cosy glow of the wall lights lit up a friendly atmosphere of people huddled around tables and lining up against the bar at the front. Though it was quite a bustling place, it wasn't too packed. Most people had taken to some of the popular clubs in the city, and a small quiet place like this was left to the locals and a few who passed by regularly.
In the back corner of the room, a group of men sat, dressed in silken shirts and pressed trousers; the usual attire for a night out. They gathered around large frothy glasses of beers, wallowing away their simple, rather gloomy lives. One especially seemed to nurse his drink with a sombre look.
"Cheer up, Billy," one of the men said to his sombre friend. "You'll find someone else. Lorraine was just a no good bitch anyway."
"I'll never learn," Billy said into his drink, taking a sip. "I just let the women walk all over me."
"Then be the big man for once," his friend suggested. "Be tough, and don't be afraid to show a little firmness with them." He spied around the room, his eyes suddenly coming to rest on a person at the bar. "Hey, Billy, take a gander up there. The redhead at the bar. Ain't she pretty?"
Billy followed the direction of his friend's gaze, listening to the murmur of his companions agree to this statement. Surely enough, there was the redhead, sat on the edge of the bar, sipping at a soda. His friend was right; she sure was a pretty thing. Tall, especially shown with her legs, long and glorious as they were. They were shown off with the thin black tights she had on and the red mini skirt that hugged her hips without restriction. Over that she wore a long red jacket that complimented a silky black blouse. Her strikingly made up face was soft and calm, not showing any complaints about being lonely away from everyone else. Her cherry red lips took to her glass, drinking down her soda before just settling back down as she sat listening to the music.
"How can a lovely lady like that just be sat alone on a Friday night?" Billy's friend, Joey, said. "She really needs a man who knows his stuff to treat her to a nice evening."
"Are we talking about me here? Or is this your fantasy?"
Joey laughed at his chum, patting his back, almost too heavily. "Ah Billy, I have a woman in my life. You don't. Take advantage, my friend, while the pickings are hot. And that lady over there is VERY hot!"
"Fine… I'll see if she wants company…" Billy sighed, finished the last of his pint and left the table, walking towards the bar where the young woman sat. Yes, young, from what he could tell. Maybe barely twenty. He gulped and looked back at his friends who just gave him the thumbs up. Grabbing some self-confidence, he finally made it to the bar.
He cleared his throat, and she finally looked up at him.
'Wow, she has beautiful blue eyes,' he thought and smiled at her. "Hi. Can I get you another drink?"
"No, thank you," she said, picking up her half-full glass, as if to make a point.
He licked his bottom lip and chuckled slightly. "Oh, okay, well, you look pretty lonely up here I noticed, and well…"
As he continued to babble on, the pretty redhead turned her eyes away from him, looking towards the back of the room. A group of young looking men, probably a few years younger then she was, were sweet talking a young blonde lady. She seemed quite thrilled with their advances and didn't hesitate to follow them as they headed for the door. She narrowed her eyes at their departure.
It was time to go.
"… I was thinking, maybe I could sit with you, talk for a bit. Kind of lonely with just the other guys…" Billy finished.
She stood. "I have to go."
She turned professionally on her high heels and walked towards the door in which those youths had left a moment earlier.
Billy stood watching her go. He sighed. Women always snubbed him off. He shrugged to his friends and went back to the table, pretty much the same as he'd left them, without a woman.
***
The blonde giggled absentmindedly as she walked with this group of men. She'd gone out looking for a date and ended up with a horde of admirers. This was her lucky night. Well, this was what she thought until she was shoved by one of them into a side alley, just down from where the bar was.
She stumbled, and managed to regain her balance. "Hey, what's the big idea?"
They didn't even answer her as they advanced towards her; all eyes set on her.
She was backing up towards the dead end, shaking like a leaf. Why did she have to be so trusting?
"Just b-back off, okay?" She shouted towards them.
"Oh, but we want to have some fun…" One rasped out, popping the muscles in his neck.
Her jaw slackened and dropped open as she noticed the changing colour of these men's eyes. They were little glowing fireflies, bobbing and burning before her, almost bright yellow. Whoever these guys were, they weren't normal.
A soft, feminine voice spoke behind them. "Picking on an innocent woman, I should have guessed it was your style…"
Angered by the disruption, the group turned their sharp, bright eyes towards the head of the alley, noticing a woman shrouded by darkness, slightly illuminated from behind by a streetlight. Though, to the keen eye, it could be seen it was the redhead from the bar.
"Why don't you just keep your nose out, sweetheart," the lead man said. "Or do you want to join in on the fun, though, I don't think you'd enjoy it…"
She chuckled, a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'd like to join in one the fun. But really, I'd make it so you wouldn't enjoy it."
The lead guy was obviously frustrated now more then ever. "Okay boys, drop the broad…"
It was like blinking double time as they rushed at her, ready to strike her down, though they'd never had thought she'd been prepared for this move. She swiftly ducked down from all the high shots that came at her, and rose up sharply to club the closest one with her elbow, sending him back into a row of trash cans.
She turned in time to grab an incoming arm and she spun, twisting him over onto the ground.
The leader gave a look of dismay. "Who are you?"
She spun, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "Anna Williams. IPD."
His jaw dropped. "You…"
She smiled, suddenly ducking a surprise shot from behind and punched the offender in the stomach, watching him fall forward onto the dirty concrete.
"Yes, thought you'd know my name." She waved her finger at him. "You know, it's just a few individuals like you who give your demon kind a bad name. Tsk, tsk…"
He roared and charged her, moving like lightning towards her, though, his punch whizzed right past her face as she side stepped and quickly kicked him square in the back. He was surprised to be kissing the concrete, groaning as he tried to get up.
"I know what your type is like, so don't think you can surprise me," Anna spat and quickly went over to the blonde woman who was cowering at the wall. "Are you alright?" She watched her hunch down away from her. "It's okay, I'm here to help."
"Who… What are they?" The blonde suddenly asked.
"It doesn't matter, you'll be filled in soon enough," she answered, and turned when she saw the group back on their feet, pretty much stalking towards her, now that she was cornered. She growled and took up her fighting stance, standing in front of the woman.
"I've had just about enough of you…" The leader hissed, but before he and his group could get any closer, something much like a battering ram crashed against them, a battle cry emitting into the night. The group was broken up; some even trying to put out little spurted fires that had caught their jackets from this mysterious amazing shot.
Anna blinked, and looked at her aid. She groaned.
Paul Phoenix, a broadly built blonde, stood, cracking his fists, which lightly flickered with flames that quickly dispersed. "Thought you may need a hand."
"As if," Anna grumbled under her breath and quickly trotted over to the leader of the pack who was just about to get up. She coiled her leg around his and twisted his knee into an uncomfortable position. He was crying out, fingers raking the floor. This was enough to get his gang fearful and they decided to abandon their mission and ran towards the opening of the alley…
… Just as a group of IPD squad cars pulled up, blocking their escape. They were soon trapped and arrested.
Anna smiled, finally incapacitating the leader. She stood up properly, brushing her skirt down. She reached behind her, lifting up the jacket to reveal a radio. She pulled it out and smiled at it, juggling it slightly in her hand.
"Never leave home with it," she said to herself and walked back towards the woman. "You're safe now."
"You're… IPD. What's that?" The woman said, recalling Anna telling those thugs who she was.
"International Paranormal Detectives. And we just cleared up some paranormal scum," she answered, and then turned her focus to Paul Phoenix, who stood their in his biker leathers, looking smugly at her. Now, he definitely wasn't IPD.
He smiled at Anna; finally realising he'd become the focus of her attention and walked towards her. "Hey, are you alri-" He was suddenly spun in her strong grasp and smashed up against the wall, the wind leaving his lungs. She pinned him there with a look of malice in her eyes. "HEY!"
"Paul Phoenix… how ironic you should be here when those demon boys attack. Were you in on this plot at all, Phoenix? If you were, you know I won't be afraid to send you back to the black dome with the rest of those… things."
He gulped. The black dome was not a nice prison. Any demon that went there received the worst punishments imaginable. "Hey, I'm innocent! I've committed a dirty deed once, done my time, now I'm going clean. You know I don't want back in that place! Can't I just go out for a drink like everyone else? Is it a crime?"
Anna scoffed. Him, like everyone else? He was a fire demon, pretty much explaining why he nearly ignited half those guys back there. A former criminal and pretty much a drifter all over. Not the kind of guy you'd trust at all. She sighed and finally released him, stepping back, dusting herself down.
"I wish it was crime for your kind, Phoenix. I really do," she said, narrowing her eyes on him. She finally walked away, towards the IPD cars, seeing now the blonde being attended to.
"Hey, wait a minute, Anna," Paul called after her, going to catch her up. "Don't be like that. You know not all of us are bad."
"Yeah, well, I see more bad then good with you lot," she said, brushing her auburn locks from her face.
"You're in with the bad with your business," he said. "So, maybe you should be a little more… open minded with us." She gave him a sour look. "Or… maybe not."
"Just leave it," she said, shaking her head tiredly.
He cleared his gruff throat, running his hand over his tall blonde hair, still keeping after her as she moved through the cars. "Well, you know, maybe you'd feel better going for a drink or something. Maybe tomorrow… maybe I could… make you see us a little differently." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and just for that, he received a punch in the face.
"Don't play around with me," she warned and walked away from him, though now there was a new obstacle in her path.
"What the hell did you think you were doing!" Forest yelled at her. His face had gone so red, she thought he'd blow his top.
"Doing my job!" She folded her arms, not in the mood to deal with her partner.
Forest Law, five years her senior was assigned her partner when he first walked into the business on his dad's departure of the company. She'd been in more or less since her school time, first as a trainee then becoming an official agent. Now he was more or less picking up on his father's legacy, and he didn't like it. He was just as good in his books, and maybe even more so, but he always thought he was somehow better then everyone else, even her. He hated the fact she never let him keep up with her running around trying to solve every case alone.
"You could have waited for me!" He said, his voice becoming overbearingly high. "This was a dangerous job! Did you know how many women died because of them?"
"Fourteen, yes, I've been doing my homework. See, I can do things alone…" She sighed, and tried to pass him but he insisted on staying in front of her.
"Yes, but you need help once in a while! Did you even have a gun on you to defend yourself?"
She rolled her eyes. "No."
"No?"
"No, didn't you hear me? And for a fact, bullets doesn't always stop them!"
"You could have got yourself killed!"
She put her hand on the livid Chinese-American's shoulder. "And that would have taken the stress out of your life now, wouldn't it?"
He gave up. "Anna, don't be a hero all the time…"
She just smiled. "Don't worry, I'll let you have your turn too." She finally could step past him, heading for her own car to pack up for the night.
From the doorway of the bar, many people had crowded; even those of the corner table had come to see what had been going on.
"Hey, wasn't that the woman you were going to chat up?" Joey asked. "That IPD lady."
Billy gulped. "I'm so glad that she walked out."
***
Everywhere, there was always crime. The normal crimes that just seemed to always happen everyday, and then, the paranormal crimes, just like the normal crimes, but just with that little bit extra twist to it. Looking out her window as she drove, Anna could tell apart those normal people from those who had a demon part to them. They could hide behind a human face, but they were still what they were. She'd had this gift since she was young, but had never thought about it, but in her jobs these days, she relied on it.
Paranormal crime had picked up to a point where she was being choked with work. But being the smart woman she was, and working in an advanced department, she'd always wrap it up quickly. The world was a dangerous place to live in, and even more so with her job, but it was her life and this is what she depended on. Family was nothing, actually, to her, family was just a word that didn't exist. For now, she was out on her own.
Finally, she arrived home to her penthouse suite apartment, the most lavish in the neighbourhood. She'd had preferred to live in a lovely country style house, but in this neck of the woods, it was too much to ask for. She missed her home in Ireland, missed seeing a lot of green from her bedroom window. All she could see from her bedroom window now was nude woman on a billboard saying, 'Free Adult Videos with your membership to Busty Belle's.' She had a nice home in a rubbish location.
She unlocked her front door and stepped into a dark hallway. She fumbled for the light switch, lighting up the darkness in an amber glow. She dumped her jacket and bag (In which she'd left in the car all along) on the table just inside the door and turned to greet the little friend sitting on the wicker chair next to the answer-phone that blinked with 3 messages.
"Smitten, my baby," she said, picking up the black and white cat, that greeted her with a loud, smooth purr. She kissed the little cat's head and pressed the button to rewind and play her messages.
She leaned against the wall, petting a very delighted Smitten as the messages played away. The first was from a friend from the coffee shop, saying that she'd love to meet up sometime. The next message was from Forest from earlier, trying to find out where she was. She chuckled at that one, listening to his worried voice thinking he was too fatherly to her. And the last was from her boss, Lei Wulong, who was also pretty much griping into her answer machine, saying that she'd better not have gone out and single-handedly tried to round up the backstreeter's gang (Which they were named for convenience). Oh well, it was a success and it wasn't like she was going in alone; she did call for back up after all.
The answer-machine clicked off when it had finished and she sighed.
"Oh Smitten, nobody has faith me these days."
She took the cat into the kitchen, putting her down onto the worktop as she pulled out a tin of cat food to satisfy her little pet, in which it did. Anna left her to munch it down as she went straight for the shower, glad to blasted by the hot water. She wasn't in there long however, as she only really needed to freshen up. Now wrapped in velvet, red robe, she stepped into her bedroom, rubbing down her hair. She flopped onto her bed, grabbing the remote from the bedside unit and turning on her TV set. Smitten finally joined her on the bed.
She was greeted by the late night news.
"Last night, another murder scene was discovered. The NYPD who are in charge of these freak New York murders are again baffled." The anchorwoman droned. "The body of twenty two year old, Vanessa Creed was discovered in Central Park. Like all the other victims in this dastardly murder case, she seemed to have been drained of life without any injury inflicted. The NYPD are finally deeming this case beyond human capability and are going to hand over to the IPD as soon as possible."
Anna groaned. She knew that she'd hear about this case tomorrow.
By Indigo Siren
Disclaimer: Tekken is © to Namco, and that all characters mentioned from under this label are only used in this fan fiction for entertainment purposes only. No money is being made from this story; it is just for fun. I do however own the basic concept and characters of my own creation.
Chapter 1
12 years later… Autumn, 2015.
New York City was one of the most vibrant, lively cities in North America. From dawn till dusk the life of the streets would always have a major presence and be made known too, even in the late hours of night. Even after a long day of labour, the menial workers of the city would gather in their local bars, kicking back to enjoy a good drink and to chat to their friends. This was especially the activity in one small bar in a quiet part of the city. From behind the closed door, the faint hum of music could be distinctly heard, and also the many muffled voices that played background to the jukebox.
Inside, the cosy glow of the wall lights lit up a friendly atmosphere of people huddled around tables and lining up against the bar at the front. Though it was quite a bustling place, it wasn't too packed. Most people had taken to some of the popular clubs in the city, and a small quiet place like this was left to the locals and a few who passed by regularly.
In the back corner of the room, a group of men sat, dressed in silken shirts and pressed trousers; the usual attire for a night out. They gathered around large frothy glasses of beers, wallowing away their simple, rather gloomy lives. One especially seemed to nurse his drink with a sombre look.
"Cheer up, Billy," one of the men said to his sombre friend. "You'll find someone else. Lorraine was just a no good bitch anyway."
"I'll never learn," Billy said into his drink, taking a sip. "I just let the women walk all over me."
"Then be the big man for once," his friend suggested. "Be tough, and don't be afraid to show a little firmness with them." He spied around the room, his eyes suddenly coming to rest on a person at the bar. "Hey, Billy, take a gander up there. The redhead at the bar. Ain't she pretty?"
Billy followed the direction of his friend's gaze, listening to the murmur of his companions agree to this statement. Surely enough, there was the redhead, sat on the edge of the bar, sipping at a soda. His friend was right; she sure was a pretty thing. Tall, especially shown with her legs, long and glorious as they were. They were shown off with the thin black tights she had on and the red mini skirt that hugged her hips without restriction. Over that she wore a long red jacket that complimented a silky black blouse. Her strikingly made up face was soft and calm, not showing any complaints about being lonely away from everyone else. Her cherry red lips took to her glass, drinking down her soda before just settling back down as she sat listening to the music.
"How can a lovely lady like that just be sat alone on a Friday night?" Billy's friend, Joey, said. "She really needs a man who knows his stuff to treat her to a nice evening."
"Are we talking about me here? Or is this your fantasy?"
Joey laughed at his chum, patting his back, almost too heavily. "Ah Billy, I have a woman in my life. You don't. Take advantage, my friend, while the pickings are hot. And that lady over there is VERY hot!"
"Fine… I'll see if she wants company…" Billy sighed, finished the last of his pint and left the table, walking towards the bar where the young woman sat. Yes, young, from what he could tell. Maybe barely twenty. He gulped and looked back at his friends who just gave him the thumbs up. Grabbing some self-confidence, he finally made it to the bar.
He cleared his throat, and she finally looked up at him.
'Wow, she has beautiful blue eyes,' he thought and smiled at her. "Hi. Can I get you another drink?"
"No, thank you," she said, picking up her half-full glass, as if to make a point.
He licked his bottom lip and chuckled slightly. "Oh, okay, well, you look pretty lonely up here I noticed, and well…"
As he continued to babble on, the pretty redhead turned her eyes away from him, looking towards the back of the room. A group of young looking men, probably a few years younger then she was, were sweet talking a young blonde lady. She seemed quite thrilled with their advances and didn't hesitate to follow them as they headed for the door. She narrowed her eyes at their departure.
It was time to go.
"… I was thinking, maybe I could sit with you, talk for a bit. Kind of lonely with just the other guys…" Billy finished.
She stood. "I have to go."
She turned professionally on her high heels and walked towards the door in which those youths had left a moment earlier.
Billy stood watching her go. He sighed. Women always snubbed him off. He shrugged to his friends and went back to the table, pretty much the same as he'd left them, without a woman.
***
The blonde giggled absentmindedly as she walked with this group of men. She'd gone out looking for a date and ended up with a horde of admirers. This was her lucky night. Well, this was what she thought until she was shoved by one of them into a side alley, just down from where the bar was.
She stumbled, and managed to regain her balance. "Hey, what's the big idea?"
They didn't even answer her as they advanced towards her; all eyes set on her.
She was backing up towards the dead end, shaking like a leaf. Why did she have to be so trusting?
"Just b-back off, okay?" She shouted towards them.
"Oh, but we want to have some fun…" One rasped out, popping the muscles in his neck.
Her jaw slackened and dropped open as she noticed the changing colour of these men's eyes. They were little glowing fireflies, bobbing and burning before her, almost bright yellow. Whoever these guys were, they weren't normal.
A soft, feminine voice spoke behind them. "Picking on an innocent woman, I should have guessed it was your style…"
Angered by the disruption, the group turned their sharp, bright eyes towards the head of the alley, noticing a woman shrouded by darkness, slightly illuminated from behind by a streetlight. Though, to the keen eye, it could be seen it was the redhead from the bar.
"Why don't you just keep your nose out, sweetheart," the lead man said. "Or do you want to join in on the fun, though, I don't think you'd enjoy it…"
She chuckled, a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'd like to join in one the fun. But really, I'd make it so you wouldn't enjoy it."
The lead guy was obviously frustrated now more then ever. "Okay boys, drop the broad…"
It was like blinking double time as they rushed at her, ready to strike her down, though they'd never had thought she'd been prepared for this move. She swiftly ducked down from all the high shots that came at her, and rose up sharply to club the closest one with her elbow, sending him back into a row of trash cans.
She turned in time to grab an incoming arm and she spun, twisting him over onto the ground.
The leader gave a look of dismay. "Who are you?"
She spun, blowing a strand of hair from her face. "Anna Williams. IPD."
His jaw dropped. "You…"
She smiled, suddenly ducking a surprise shot from behind and punched the offender in the stomach, watching him fall forward onto the dirty concrete.
"Yes, thought you'd know my name." She waved her finger at him. "You know, it's just a few individuals like you who give your demon kind a bad name. Tsk, tsk…"
He roared and charged her, moving like lightning towards her, though, his punch whizzed right past her face as she side stepped and quickly kicked him square in the back. He was surprised to be kissing the concrete, groaning as he tried to get up.
"I know what your type is like, so don't think you can surprise me," Anna spat and quickly went over to the blonde woman who was cowering at the wall. "Are you alright?" She watched her hunch down away from her. "It's okay, I'm here to help."
"Who… What are they?" The blonde suddenly asked.
"It doesn't matter, you'll be filled in soon enough," she answered, and turned when she saw the group back on their feet, pretty much stalking towards her, now that she was cornered. She growled and took up her fighting stance, standing in front of the woman.
"I've had just about enough of you…" The leader hissed, but before he and his group could get any closer, something much like a battering ram crashed against them, a battle cry emitting into the night. The group was broken up; some even trying to put out little spurted fires that had caught their jackets from this mysterious amazing shot.
Anna blinked, and looked at her aid. She groaned.
Paul Phoenix, a broadly built blonde, stood, cracking his fists, which lightly flickered with flames that quickly dispersed. "Thought you may need a hand."
"As if," Anna grumbled under her breath and quickly trotted over to the leader of the pack who was just about to get up. She coiled her leg around his and twisted his knee into an uncomfortable position. He was crying out, fingers raking the floor. This was enough to get his gang fearful and they decided to abandon their mission and ran towards the opening of the alley…
… Just as a group of IPD squad cars pulled up, blocking their escape. They were soon trapped and arrested.
Anna smiled, finally incapacitating the leader. She stood up properly, brushing her skirt down. She reached behind her, lifting up the jacket to reveal a radio. She pulled it out and smiled at it, juggling it slightly in her hand.
"Never leave home with it," she said to herself and walked back towards the woman. "You're safe now."
"You're… IPD. What's that?" The woman said, recalling Anna telling those thugs who she was.
"International Paranormal Detectives. And we just cleared up some paranormal scum," she answered, and then turned her focus to Paul Phoenix, who stood their in his biker leathers, looking smugly at her. Now, he definitely wasn't IPD.
He smiled at Anna; finally realising he'd become the focus of her attention and walked towards her. "Hey, are you alri-" He was suddenly spun in her strong grasp and smashed up against the wall, the wind leaving his lungs. She pinned him there with a look of malice in her eyes. "HEY!"
"Paul Phoenix… how ironic you should be here when those demon boys attack. Were you in on this plot at all, Phoenix? If you were, you know I won't be afraid to send you back to the black dome with the rest of those… things."
He gulped. The black dome was not a nice prison. Any demon that went there received the worst punishments imaginable. "Hey, I'm innocent! I've committed a dirty deed once, done my time, now I'm going clean. You know I don't want back in that place! Can't I just go out for a drink like everyone else? Is it a crime?"
Anna scoffed. Him, like everyone else? He was a fire demon, pretty much explaining why he nearly ignited half those guys back there. A former criminal and pretty much a drifter all over. Not the kind of guy you'd trust at all. She sighed and finally released him, stepping back, dusting herself down.
"I wish it was crime for your kind, Phoenix. I really do," she said, narrowing her eyes on him. She finally walked away, towards the IPD cars, seeing now the blonde being attended to.
"Hey, wait a minute, Anna," Paul called after her, going to catch her up. "Don't be like that. You know not all of us are bad."
"Yeah, well, I see more bad then good with you lot," she said, brushing her auburn locks from her face.
"You're in with the bad with your business," he said. "So, maybe you should be a little more… open minded with us." She gave him a sour look. "Or… maybe not."
"Just leave it," she said, shaking her head tiredly.
He cleared his gruff throat, running his hand over his tall blonde hair, still keeping after her as she moved through the cars. "Well, you know, maybe you'd feel better going for a drink or something. Maybe tomorrow… maybe I could… make you see us a little differently." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and just for that, he received a punch in the face.
"Don't play around with me," she warned and walked away from him, though now there was a new obstacle in her path.
"What the hell did you think you were doing!" Forest yelled at her. His face had gone so red, she thought he'd blow his top.
"Doing my job!" She folded her arms, not in the mood to deal with her partner.
Forest Law, five years her senior was assigned her partner when he first walked into the business on his dad's departure of the company. She'd been in more or less since her school time, first as a trainee then becoming an official agent. Now he was more or less picking up on his father's legacy, and he didn't like it. He was just as good in his books, and maybe even more so, but he always thought he was somehow better then everyone else, even her. He hated the fact she never let him keep up with her running around trying to solve every case alone.
"You could have waited for me!" He said, his voice becoming overbearingly high. "This was a dangerous job! Did you know how many women died because of them?"
"Fourteen, yes, I've been doing my homework. See, I can do things alone…" She sighed, and tried to pass him but he insisted on staying in front of her.
"Yes, but you need help once in a while! Did you even have a gun on you to defend yourself?"
She rolled her eyes. "No."
"No?"
"No, didn't you hear me? And for a fact, bullets doesn't always stop them!"
"You could have got yourself killed!"
She put her hand on the livid Chinese-American's shoulder. "And that would have taken the stress out of your life now, wouldn't it?"
He gave up. "Anna, don't be a hero all the time…"
She just smiled. "Don't worry, I'll let you have your turn too." She finally could step past him, heading for her own car to pack up for the night.
From the doorway of the bar, many people had crowded; even those of the corner table had come to see what had been going on.
"Hey, wasn't that the woman you were going to chat up?" Joey asked. "That IPD lady."
Billy gulped. "I'm so glad that she walked out."
***
Everywhere, there was always crime. The normal crimes that just seemed to always happen everyday, and then, the paranormal crimes, just like the normal crimes, but just with that little bit extra twist to it. Looking out her window as she drove, Anna could tell apart those normal people from those who had a demon part to them. They could hide behind a human face, but they were still what they were. She'd had this gift since she was young, but had never thought about it, but in her jobs these days, she relied on it.
Paranormal crime had picked up to a point where she was being choked with work. But being the smart woman she was, and working in an advanced department, she'd always wrap it up quickly. The world was a dangerous place to live in, and even more so with her job, but it was her life and this is what she depended on. Family was nothing, actually, to her, family was just a word that didn't exist. For now, she was out on her own.
Finally, she arrived home to her penthouse suite apartment, the most lavish in the neighbourhood. She'd had preferred to live in a lovely country style house, but in this neck of the woods, it was too much to ask for. She missed her home in Ireland, missed seeing a lot of green from her bedroom window. All she could see from her bedroom window now was nude woman on a billboard saying, 'Free Adult Videos with your membership to Busty Belle's.' She had a nice home in a rubbish location.
She unlocked her front door and stepped into a dark hallway. She fumbled for the light switch, lighting up the darkness in an amber glow. She dumped her jacket and bag (In which she'd left in the car all along) on the table just inside the door and turned to greet the little friend sitting on the wicker chair next to the answer-phone that blinked with 3 messages.
"Smitten, my baby," she said, picking up the black and white cat, that greeted her with a loud, smooth purr. She kissed the little cat's head and pressed the button to rewind and play her messages.
She leaned against the wall, petting a very delighted Smitten as the messages played away. The first was from a friend from the coffee shop, saying that she'd love to meet up sometime. The next message was from Forest from earlier, trying to find out where she was. She chuckled at that one, listening to his worried voice thinking he was too fatherly to her. And the last was from her boss, Lei Wulong, who was also pretty much griping into her answer machine, saying that she'd better not have gone out and single-handedly tried to round up the backstreeter's gang (Which they were named for convenience). Oh well, it was a success and it wasn't like she was going in alone; she did call for back up after all.
The answer-machine clicked off when it had finished and she sighed.
"Oh Smitten, nobody has faith me these days."
She took the cat into the kitchen, putting her down onto the worktop as she pulled out a tin of cat food to satisfy her little pet, in which it did. Anna left her to munch it down as she went straight for the shower, glad to blasted by the hot water. She wasn't in there long however, as she only really needed to freshen up. Now wrapped in velvet, red robe, she stepped into her bedroom, rubbing down her hair. She flopped onto her bed, grabbing the remote from the bedside unit and turning on her TV set. Smitten finally joined her on the bed.
She was greeted by the late night news.
"Last night, another murder scene was discovered. The NYPD who are in charge of these freak New York murders are again baffled." The anchorwoman droned. "The body of twenty two year old, Vanessa Creed was discovered in Central Park. Like all the other victims in this dastardly murder case, she seemed to have been drained of life without any injury inflicted. The NYPD are finally deeming this case beyond human capability and are going to hand over to the IPD as soon as possible."
Anna groaned. She knew that she'd hear about this case tomorrow.