Gemstone Ring
Chapter 1
"Nephrite." Kunzite held out a cup of coffee to his tired friend. It was six o'clock – time when normal people started to head home from work. For the four of them, though, the day was just starting.
"Jeez Neph, were you up all day looking through those pieces? How many hours did you sleep?" Jadeite, the most talkative one of the group, asked from his position on the living room floor as he looked up from a mess of spreadsheets, schedules, and folders.
"I think I went to sleep around three," the object of everyone's attention replied, leaning against the kitchen counter, taking a sip of coffee before taking a larger gulp of the lukewarm liquid. "Kunzite, is this instant?" he asked, grimacing when the other nodded in affirmation.
"That's not so bad," Zoisite noted, finishing off his muffin and turning a page in the business section of that day's newspaper. "I've managed to work on four hours of sleep before."
"Yes but Zoi, smiling and charming customers isn't as difficult as mixing drinks," Jadeite inserted. Zoisite stuck out a tongue at the other blond. Kunzite just shook his head and headed for the door, already dressed in his uniform suit – different from the one he'd worn that morning – muttering something about living with children.
"Zoi, did you figure out how to sell these pieces?" Nephrite chose to ignore the bickering, instead finishing the rest of his coffee and moving to the counter and pulling out a bag of coffee beans from the cabinet. Measuring out a small amount, he poured it into the grinder.
"No. I looked around the auction sites last night, but nothing big's happening until next month. Do you think we can keep them for that long?" There was silence for a few seconds as the loud whirring of the grinder blocked out all other sound. Nephrite scooped out the grind into a filter and turned on the coffeemaker before responding.
"Probably. The transfer went over pretty well, and Beryl wouldn't betray us." He poked his head in the fridge to search for something edible. Highly unlikely, given that he was living with three other males, but possible. Unfortunately for him, there was only an empty egg carton and a half eaten Yoplait yogurt, raspberry flavored. He grabbed and threw out both.
"I don't know; I kept getting a weird feeling last night, " Jadeite finally said something serious. "Maybe I just didn't get a clear view from the car, but did her bodyguards look new to you?"
"Jadeite, Beryl's a go-between. She changes bodyguards like nobody's business, to make sure no members of rival gangs meet," Zoisite responded. By now, Nephrite was rummaging around in the freezer, and to his apparently delight, 'discovered' a box of waffles. He gleefully pulled out two and popped them into the toaster before pouring himself another cup of coffee. Picking up the remote, Nephrite flipped to the news, just as they were announcing some other traffic accident somewhere in Tokyo.
"In other news, Han Besu was arrested today on charges of illegal smuggling. She is suspected to be a member of a large underground organization that has smuggled over four billion dollars worth of art, jewels, and other stolen items in the last five years. Her lawyers and the police have refused all interviews." A picture was displayed on the screen, and Nephrite's mouth dropped just as the toaster went off.
"Beryl," he muttered. There was no mistaking the woman they had met with less than twenty-four hours ago, though without her makeup or jewelry, she looked, well, hideous. Jadeite stood up and walked over to the kitchen TV set as Zoisite looked up from calculating his stocks and money.
"How?" Jadeite wondered.
"Do you think she'll tell?" Zoisite responded.
"Doubtful. She's a professional; she won't bend to their mind games or plea bargains. She knows that the second she turns in anyone, she's as good as dead anyway – right now, it's safer for her to stay behind bars," Nephrite rationalized. The two blonds thought over his words, realizing that he was fully right. There just simply was no way the woman that acted as the correspondence among several crime rings and gangs would ever be safe if she were to disclose any information about her clients. Not a single one of them would let her live. Plus, she was a professional, and professionals didn't go about turning in their comrades. Right?
There was doubt in all of their minds as they went to get dressed before heading to work. They needed to be at the club by six-thirty, to help open and set up. Jadeite changed into a blue, skin-tight tank top, with a gold dragon sewn into the front, and leather pants adorned with buckles and chains. Zoisite wore a white shirt, black suit jacket and pants, and a green tie that brought out his eyes. The ensemble was finished with a red rose in his breast pocket. Nephrite had the most formal uniform of them all – white ruffled shirt, black bowtie, black tuxedo jacket and pants.
Downstairs, Jadeite checked the sound and lights, especially around the stage, with the precision born of a routine procedure. Nephrite opened up the bar and checked all his supplies, replacing empty bottles and checking all his fountain drinks. Zoisite and Kunzite were on the second floor of the club, turning over chairs and setting up the private rooms. One by one, other employees began trickling in and helping with the setting up of the club, preparing for another day of business.
In another part of town, Minako was happily chattering on the phone as she drove home from work, to her college roommate and best friend, Hino Rei. They had both studied criminology, though Rei had gone on to be a lawyer while Minkao chose to become a detective. Years didn't ebb away their friendship though; rather, their jobs had them running into each other quite frequently, and the two remained very good friends. "So then Makoto came out of the office, and I knew she'd gotten her raise, so we're planning on going out tonight to celebrate. You should come. You don't have plans for tonight, do you?"
Rei laughed from her end of the conversation. "Of course I'll come, Mina. Makoto's a good friend of mine, too. When and where?"
"We thought we'd go for some Chinese at the Red Lion in the tenth district, then go to the Gemstone Lounge and party. In other words, dress smart and sexy."
"Smart and sexy, will do," the voice replied. "When?"
"I'll pick you up at six-thirty, is that OK?"
"Sure, see you then."
"Bye." Minako ended the call on her cell and pulled into her apartment garage. She had the perfect new backless shirt to wear, which could be covered with a stylish jacket during dinner, of course.
Laughter rang loudly from a private room in an upscale restaurant. Inside, six women and two men were looking through menus and deciding what to order for the group. "I say we let Makoto decide, since it is her party, and because she knows food the best," a blonde declared, closing her menu and setting it down.
"Yea right Usagi, you probably just can't read the kanji," a Chinese looking woman replied.
"I actually think that's a good idea," said another woman, with dark, dark purple blue hair, as she and her companion, a man with long white hair, set down their menus.
"Even though Usagi probably can't read the kanji anyway," the man chuckled, taking a sip of his tea.
Makoto laughed as everyone else set down their menus and looked expectantly at her. "OK, OK, I get it I get it. I'll order." She went outside to get their waitress and returning to the table, listed off ten dishes, asking about certain spices in each of them and making sure everything would suit their tastes. The young girl nodded as she wrote everything down, answering all questions in such a polite tone that Makoto felt very drawn to the child – for the girl was definitely no older than sixteen. She would definitely leave a large tip.
When she had finished ordering and the waitress left with their order, the talk about the table suddenly became business. "Makoto, Usagi, Minako, here's everything we managed to get from researching Beryl's connections," the other man, the epitome of 'tall, dark and handsome,' said, handing each of the detectives unmarked blue folders from his briefcase. They opened the folders to find several classified papers, some with photos paper clipped to them – profiles of suspects and released criminals, and their records. He then handed a black folder to the Chinese woman. "Rei, here's a transcript of today's interrogation – see if there's anything you can prosecute on. Luna, Artemis, these are the items that we think has passed through Beryl's hands." Pulling out two gray folders, he handed them to the couple on his right – owners of a private investigation firm. "Ami, the lab already has all the evidence we've found; they'll be waiting there for you tomorrow." The blue haired woman across the table nodded at him.
Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and they returned to discussing the latest stock prices and business mergers as the waitress reentered, carrying a pot of soup and eight bowls. As they began to eat, the friends exchanged gossip and forgot about business for the night.
After dinner, Ami, Luna and Artemis said their goodnights to everyone else on the way out, since they weren't going to go clubbing with them. Ami had to return to work the night shift at the hospital, though Makoto suspected the quiet girl just didn't like clubbing. Luna and Artemis could only get a sitter for their daughter, Diana, for a few hours that night, since it was such short notice, and so couldn't stay either.
The remaining five slowly walked towards the Gemstone Lounge, since it was a nice night and the club was only three blocks from the restaurant. The line to get in the club was long, but well worth it – the Gemstone Lounge was the best club in its district, and everyone knew it. "Mmmm… that bouncer sure is hunky," Minako murmured, staring at the tall man, dressed in a black vest with silver thread embroidery that only served to emphasize his silver hair and gray eyes.
Rei took a look, and scrunched up her nose. "Sure, if you like old men," she commented.
Minako was about to reply when Makoto did instead. "Rei, look closer. He's not old – not any older than Art, anyway. But he's too pale for my tastes. Looks like a vampire." As the line moved and Rei got a better view of the topic of discussion, she finally decided to concede to her friends.
"It's probably the hair. I don't like guys with long hair."
Usagi giggled as she leaned in to tall, dark and handsome's embrace. "I don't like them with long hair either, Rei, so don't worry."
"I should hope not," her boyfriend muttered. "I certainly don't want to have long hair." The group laughed, as they finally reached the front of the line. Handing the much-discussed bouncer their IDs and an ample amount of cash, Minako also graced him with a huge smile. Kunzite was so stunned that he barely remembered to check their ages before returning their IDs.
Jadeite replaced the last light bulb before unstrapping his tool belt and setting it down in the storage room. He then rushed into the changing room backstage to meet with the dancers and performers for the night. They discussed the music that would be played that night briefly. He knew and trusted these performers – they came every Tuesday night regularly. Instead, he went to check out his own equipment, and began planning the songs he would play that night, as well as when he'd do what. As the house DJ, his job was perhaps one of the most important in the club – his skill determined whether or not the majority of their customers came back – and Jadeite certainly wasn't one to disappoint.
Nephrite finished wiping off the counter to the point where it glistened even in the dim light. He took a seat on the stool behind the counter, intent on getting some extra rest before they opened for the night and he had a line of customers waiting for drinks. Unable to relax though, he called to memory every individual piece he had acquired that morning, and reviewed some pieces he still had from previous shipments, trying to figure out where and how he could best market each piece. He was interrupted by a voice asking him for a soda water.
"Zoi, there's nothing left in this building, right? All the pieces have been moved to the storehouse?" he asked as he got the blonde his drink, which the blonde promptly gulped down.
"Don't worry. If there were to be a police bust on this place, all they'd find is four owners of a popular nightclub, one with an interest in weapons, given that he's a bouncer and likes weapons and things like that, and one with an interest in all things artistic, including dance, music, paintings and sculptures. I'm just your regular businessman who keeps close tab of the stock market and the wealthiest locals, while you're the closet sex freak."
"WHAT?"
"Kidding, kidding," Zoisite held up his hangs, as if his now-empty glass could save him. "You're the bartender that happens to know everything and can strike up a comfortable conversation with anyone about anything. To do so, you read up on anything and everything, and keep very close tabs on the news." He set the glass down on the counter, which Nephrite promptly cleaned up. "Plus, you said it yourself, right? Beryl won't tattle. Least of all on us, since we treat her fairly well, though even she knows of Jadeite and Kunzite's shooting skills."
"That's true." He had forgotten to factor in the threats they could pose to anyone who dared meddle with them. Jadeite's assassin skills had him handy with any weapon, from a penknife to a long-range rifle. Kunzite was better with close proximity fighting, primarily hand-to-hand combat, but his interest in weapons and his role as a part-time arms dealer made him quite formidable with any weapon on the black market, also.
"I better get going; it's time to open up," Zoisite said, moving away from the bar. "Keep out of trouble tonight, y'hear?" He grinned cheekily – he himself was far more likely to get into trouble than the calm bartender Nephrite.
Meanwhile, satisfied that everything inside was ready, Kunzite went outside to join the other bouncer. They opened the line and began the rather boring job of checking entering customers. Though they'd just opened, there was already a long line of people waiting to get in. Given that his was perhaps the most mindless of all their jobs, his thoughts were free to wander, and wander it did. Even as he kept track of the numbers of people entering, he thought back to their latest arms shipment, from the one known as Dioptase. His mind slipped to wondering when the ring they worked in enjoyed using names from the silicate group of minerals to contact each other. He pondered the intelligence of continuing that pattern and continuing to use those names – if the police ever caught on to this pattern, all of them could easily be exposed. Plus, Zoisite had informed him, when they were setting up, that Beryl had been captured. The capture of one could easily lead to the capture of others, especially if they used such ea sily tracked codenames. Though, they did only use those names in private, he thought, looking down at his nametag, which read S. Keigo.
Suddenly, a gorgeous blonde grinned at him as she handed him her ID card and a slip of cash. That was nothing unusual – a lot of beautiful women visited the Gemstone Lounge every night, and a lot of people stiffed him extra cash or smiled at him, for reasons he had yet to comprehend. But there was something about the girl. She and her friends, two dark haired ladies, were definitely beautiful, but no more so than several of their other customers. Kunzite was left to wonder at her memory as he checked the IDs of the next blonde – who, incidentally, was almost as on par in looks with the previous girl – and her date.
Jadeite was starting the night out on some fast numbers. He currently had his favorite song on, and couldn't help moving to the beat. It was of the genre he called classic techno – full of synthesized music, but with a distinct beat and discernable melody. He loved his job as the club DJ, and not only because of the music. For one, he got to dress the most casual out of every worker for the house, which pleased his formality-hating self immensely. More importantly though, from his position at the corner of the stage, he had what he felt was the best view of the house – he could look out at the sea of people on the dance floor, moving and grinding to the music he loved. Part of his job as the team assassin including scouting the scene and making sure there were no suspicious or police-like characters.
In his opinion though, the absolute best part about his position was that he got to check out hot women dancing to the beat, unaware that he was all but ogling them. Watching the dance floor was like having his own private entertainers – even though some of them clearly weren't experienced, he grimaced, as he saw a girl clearly not a day past eighteen get pushed around on the floor. Turning to the entrance, Jadeite saw a sight that made his heart skip a beat. He almost missed switching his two players when the music began dying down, but quickly remembered his place and switched music from the techno to a recent pop hit, before looking back, only to find the woman gone. He did a quick scan of the places closest to the door, catching a second glimpse of her at the coat check. Now that she'd removed her outerwear, her clubbing wear inside made him even more breathless than before. The girl, with her black hair pulled into multiple braids that she'd looped about her head in an old-fashioned Chinese style, wore a red, high-necked, formfitting sleeveless qipao that ended a few inches above her knees and had a slit halfway up her right thigh. Aside from the fact that tradition qipao reached the ankle, she looked like a vision straight out of an ancient China martial arts movie. At that moment, he wished nothing more than to be in Zoisite's shoes.
Zoisite too, was very appreciative of his shoes. He'd just spotted what was quite possibly the city's hottest quartet of women entering the dance floor. He decided to get to his managerial "mingling" job and go dance with them. His position consisted of making sure everyone was having a good time and performing some fancy dance moves if things were too slow at the beginning. He also escorted important customers upstairs – Kunzite contacted him via earpiece when they came, and just in general make sure things went well.
He walked up behind a blonde wearing a backless shirt that tied around her very small waist and neck, and a yellow miniskirt that showed off the legs of a goddess, with one word on his mind – wow. "Mind if I join you?" he asked in his best I'm-on-a-spree-to-charm-everyone-around voice, smiling his best fall-for-me smile.
Minako turned around at the invitation behind her, ready to shoo away the pervert. Instead of a lewd old man or anything of the sort, she found a handsome young man giving her one of the most disarmingly charming smiles she'd ever seen on any male. He had long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail and eyes as green as Rei's favorite jadeite necklace. One word popped into her mind when she looked at him – debonair. She didn't know why, but it seemed to fit him. "Of course," she replied, fully turning and beginning to dance with him. She was aware of her friends giggling behind her, but didn't care – this man was gorgeous! "I'm Aino Minako."
"Nanba Zui, pleased to meet you," he said as a new song began and they began dancing together.
"Nanba Zui… as in, the owner?" Minako practically squealed.
"I'm afraid so," he responded. "One of them, anyway. Though they don't look it, I'm actually partners with the bartender, the DJ, and one of the bouncers. I just happen to be the one that does most of the business and managing parts of the club." He grinned inwardly. Playing up the fact that he owned the club always attracted the girls.
Minako glanced at the darkly handsome bartender and the enraptured DJ before responding. "Let me guess – the bouncer with the long gray hair, right?"
Zoisite laughed – another one of his charming weapons. "Better watch what you say now; Keigo's rather sensitive about his hair. He calls it silver. But yes, he's my partner. How did you guess?"
"Well, you, the bartender, and the DJ are all very good looking, and excepting the DJ, all have long hair. The other bouncer was this icky looking bald dude," she replied, making a face as she recalled the 'other bouncer,' while making a mental note of the good looking bouncer's name. Zoisite couldn't help but laugh at her openness, though her ability to spot patterns was quite astonishing. He decided to question her on it.
"Miss Aino, what do you do for a living? You seem very observant," he questioned.
Minako loved his politeness, even when they were dancing in a crowded club, populated with some very… dirty… dancing. However, his question worried her slightly. Very few men were able to accept the fact that she was a detective. "Let's just say I work with the government," she said coyly.
If he weren't trained as well as Kunzite to keep a poker face, Zoisite would've frozen up right then and there. As is, his eyes darkened for a brief moment before he forcefully lightened his mood. "The government, huh? You're not here to infiltrate my operation and impose additional taxes on me, are you?"
Minako giggled. "No, nothing of the sort."
Zoisite pretended to sigh in relief. He suddenly heard a beep in his earpiece, and Kunzite murmuring, "Zoi, a man with a Garnet ring is here. He wants to discuss some business with you." Zoisite pressed a button behind his tie – the switch for his mouthpiece – and replied, "I'll be there in a second." Looking down at Minako, he stopped dancing and said, "Well, Keigo has just informed me that some of those snobbish VIP customers are here. I must go attend to them, but I hope to see you and your friends again sometime, Miss Aino." Smiling and taking her hand, he dropped a light kiss on it, and left before she could wake from her stupor and respond.
Jadeite watched Zoisite dance with one of the Chinese girl's friends – a pretty blonde – with a mixture of relief and anger. He didn't quite understand, but for some reason, he felt the one he was attracted to had been slighted by Zoi when he passed her up for her friend. At the same time, he was glad he didn't have to strangle Zoisite for always getting to dance with the girls he wanted to dance with.
He also heard Kunzite's message in his earpiece, as well as Zoisite response. Jadeite watched as Zoisite took his leave of the dancers, and realized it was time to get the performers ready in the back, since Zoi and Garnet would almost certainly be discussing business upstairs, and the latter always enjoyed a good show.
Garnet was a very important client. He brought new meaning to the phrase filthy rich, and made up an eighth of their art customer base alone. Pressing the topmost buckle on his left pants leg, he murmured into his mouthpiece, "Slight change of plans. Group Two dancers on deck. You're on after the next song." From across the room, he saw Nephrite give him a surreptitious nod, indicating that Group Two was definitely the right choice for Garnet.
Jadeite changed the disc on the reserve player and programmed it for the right tracks while watching Zoisite bowed and greeted a well-dressed, handsome man with reddish-brown hair and his two bodyguards. Zoi extended an arm, indicating the stairs. As they headed up, Jadeite stopped the music on his first player and simultaneously turned on the microphone in front of him. "Ladies and Gentlemen," he announced, "We've got some awesome entertainment lined for you tonight. Are you ready to party?" A cheer rose from the crowd. "Then welcome our house dancers, the Amazoness Quartet!" He turned on the programmed player and switched on some stage spotlights. Four scantily dressed young women ran out from behind the curtains, each striking a pose just as the music started. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Zoisite hold out a chair for Garnet before sitting down himself. Perfect timing.
As Jadeite was working on getting the entertainment ready, Nephrite was very busy in his own corner. As soon as he heard Garnet arrived, he grabbed his backup bartender, who normally worked as a waiter, and told him to mix drinks for people at the bar. He himself followed Zoisite upstairs, and counted twenty seconds after they'd settled down to approach. Garnet took a look at him and smiled.
"Nephrite," he greeted. Reaching for his wallet, he took out a stack of cards and flipped through them. Finally selecting one he liked, he handed it to Nephrite while putting the rest away. "Make me one of these, yea? I know your magic hands can make anything spectacularly on your first try."
Bowing, Nephrite thanked him and went behind the smaller counter on the second floor, reserved only for drinks for their "VIP customers." Attached behind the doors to two of the locked liquor cabinets were guns – Nephrite was not only mixing drinks for their customers; he was also acting as a guard for Zoisite. Nobody took any risks in their business. Looking at the card, he sighed to himself. Garnet had a nasty habit of enjoying out of the ordinary drinks, which led him to always carrying around a stack of recipe cards. There had been times when he didn't have all the ingredients necessary, and Garnet would clearly look down on him when he had to inform him of such. Luckily for him, the ingredients this time were all liquor, wine and some fruits, all of which he had on hand. The process of making it, though, looked to be rather complex and annoying, as business with Garnet also had a habit of being.
I felt Chapter 1 ought to also be posted, since the prologue was so short. So, now all the actors have met, and some of the attractions have started taking place. Wonder how the story will turn out? Review! It makes me write and update faster. The entire story's outlined and waiting to be written. :D
Oh, but updates might be slow this week. Labs and exams and all. College life is torture, I swear.