Chapter Nine

"Isn't she your ex?"

Uub and Sasoli exchanged glances which made the other detectives glower disapprovingly. She placed a hand on her hip while tossing her hair. She had to play this just right, seductive enough to imply a hot past fling but not too much that would make seem like she was unable to fill her job.

"It's not really any of your concern," she lowered her voice slightly and glanced at them from under her eyelashes. She knew she should have worn lipstick today, damn. "Any past between Uub and myself is exactly that, past."

Himbon gave her a half-leer half-sneer as he stepped into her personal space, "That mean your looking for a replacement?"

Her semi-heated look cooled to the consistency of ice, "Again, it's not any of your concern."

She continued to glare icily at him, the situation was somehow familiar . . . "Smile."

"What?" Himbon deliberately frowned.

"Smile," Sasoli's eyes became dangerous slits of blue.

His frown deepened.

"Ok, calm down," Beasely went to place a hand on each of their shoulders only to have Sasoli smoothly dodge.

"Detective Beasely," she nodded at him before turning to Uub, "I will meet you in room 795 on floor twenty."

The men could only watch her saunter away.

"Where did you meet her?" Beasely mused, "And what did you do to lose her?"

Uub shrugged uncommitted, he wasn't sure how he was supposed to answer.

Beasely smirked at Uub but glared at his partner, "What the hell was your problem, Himbon? I've never seen you act like that before? Don't tell me she's your ex, too?"

Himbon finally allowed his face to relax into a sheepish grin, "Naw, she probably wouldn't give me the time of day."

Uub lifted a brow at Himbon's sudden change of personality. He had never seen this side of the surly detective before . . .

"Not acting like that, she won't," Beasely rolled his eyes. "I thought you said you knew your way around women."

"I do," Himbon's dimples appeared, "It's just . . . there's something about her that pisses me off."

"She seems to have the opposite effect on Uub," Beasely's eyes were shrewd as they landed on the silent participant who raised his hands as if to ward off the verbal attack.

Hostility immediately entered Himbon's eyes and Uub took his cue to leave.

"We'll debrief later," Uub nodded at both of them and left in the same direction as Sasoli.

"What were you thinking! Telling him about the wire!"

Maron sat calmly at a table sipping tea while no less than three cops continued to shout questions at her. "You never told me I couldn't tell him."

Their mouths dropped open in disbelief.

Maron took a quick sip of tea. "I don't see why you're complaining. We forgot about the wire within minutes of mentioning it. Besides, Trunks is much too intelligent to not suspect all of his conversations being tapped."

"No one's that paranoid," one cop snorted.

Maron lifted a pale brow, "You don't know his family."

"And you do?"

Maron sighed and pushed the hidden button on her bracelet. This could take hours and Sasoli was better suited for this kind of thing.

Sasoli cursed when her bracelet flashed yellow, Maron needed her and now.

The door opened and Uub stuck his head in, "Sasoli-"

"No time," she grabbed him arm and dragged him out of the window. "We have to go now."

Uub struggled half-heartedly, "We should take a car."

"No time," she hissed and threw all of her weight backward out of the window.

His eyes widened as he was helpless to do nothing more than follow.

Her power flared and she lifted them both into the air.

"You do know how to fly, don't you?"

Uub snapped out of his befuddlement and realized he was just dangling limply from the arm she held.

"Of course-"

She dropped him.

Uub caught himself in midair and pressed a hand to his chest. She had almost given him a heart attack. He hadn't been prepared for the sudden weightlessness and the sickening grip of gravity.

"Are you coming or not?" Sasoli tapped her foot in the air before blasting of again.

Uub took a deep breath and, a second later, he was flying right by her side.

"You're fast," Sasoli smiled and dropped from the sky.

Uub followed.

Maron sighed and closed her eyes, steadfastly ignored the cops around here. She refused to answer any more nonsense questions.

"What does he want you to smuggle to him?"

"Who is this Goten character?"

"We know you're not mute!"

The doors burst open and two very dark people entered with the expectation of being acknowledged and soon.

"You can't just come in here-"

Uub silenced the cops by flashing his detective badge.

"Sasoli!" Maron enveloped her cousin in a tight hug, "What took you so long?"

"I had to bring him," Sasoli jerked her head toward Uub, "What's happening? Why did you send for me?"

"They won't let me leave-" Maron tried to explain.

"She needs to answer a few questions about her conversation with the accused." One cop interrupted.

"Didn't you use a wire?" Uub frowned.

"Well, yes-"

"Then there is nothing to question her about that cannot be gleaned from the tape," Uub motioned for the women to come to him.

"Who is she?" A blond cop pointed at Sasoli.

"I am Ms. Maron's lawyer," Sasoli gave him a look so cold it literally froze him to his spot. "She already has allowed a gross invasion of her privacy by letting you plant a wire. There is a thin line between willful cooperation and forced cooperation."

She surveyed the room with a sharp and calculating glare.

"You wouldn't want to cross that line, would you?"

Uub shivered at the sheer ruthlessness in her voice that let everyone in the room know that she wouldn't hesitate to press charges and take everything she could.

Wait. . . He turned to her puzzled, since when was she a lawyer?

"I believe this is concluded," he placed a guiding hand on Maron's shoulder.

Sasoli turned her nose up at them and confidently marched out the door.

"I suggest you go over the tape as many times as it takes," Uub ducked out of the interrogation room.

"Thank you so much," Maron hugged him tightly and briefly.

"He did come in handy," Sasoli's smile was genuine for once and like Maron's smile brief. "We need to get back to the company."

"I agree," Maron nodded and looped arms with her rescuers.

Uub glanced at them uncomfortably. Maron was treating him like an old friend while Sasoli was suddenly . . . girly. Her expression was more open as she talked to her cousin. A softness about her mouth and eyes that he had never seen before.

They exited the building almost without him noticing when the girls stopped and looked at him expectantly.

"Do you want to take her or shall I?" Sasoli repeated herself patiently.

His expression must have clearly said, "Take who where?" Because the next thing he knew Sasoli had swung a protesting Maron onto her back.

"I can fly," was the only thing Maron was able to get out before they were gone.

Zarah paced in his office, cursing softly. Where the hell was Sasoli? The detectives were running around the building unchaperoned and he had no less than three calls of complaints already. Bra was no help and was thinking of taking a week off to plan her wedding, as if he didn't have enough on his plate! Now, he had to be understaffed as well! And to top it all off he hadn't even made a dent in Trunk's damn paperwork!

Zarah snarled before pushing the hidden button on his watch. All he knew was Sasoli had better get her ass back on track before he cut her salary in half.

Maron clung to her cousin's shoulders for dear life as they flew at unimaginable speeds. A rather girly shriek escaped the blonde's mouth as her transport came to an abrupt halt, nearly launching Maron from her perch.

Sasoli glared at her bracelet as the stones turned a foreboding black.

"What's wrong?" Uub appeared at her side. "Hey, I thought the stones were yellow."

"They were," Sasoli rubbed her temples, extremely irritated.

"Sasoli," Maron's voice was undeniably shaky, "Are we almost there?"

"Yes," Sasoli narrowed her eyes and blasted off again but with a slightly upward angle.

Maron could only whimper as she realized their ascent into the heavens. While, yes, she could fly under her own power, Maron could never hope to achieve these speeds.

Uub glanced at her sympathically before increasing his speed to fly directly above and slightly in front of Sasoli to cut down on the wind shear.

Sasoli gave him a distinctly puzzled look while Maron's was grateful.

They reached Trunk's favorite escape window within minutes and Zarah let them in butt not without a surprised glance at Maron.

The blond swayed when she was set on her feet and sank into a nearby chair extremely thankful for a solid surface. Maron had seen better days, her hair was so windblown that it was almost saiyan-like in appearance. Her face so pale and her blue eyes, she could have passed for super saiyan.

Zarah cocked his head to the side as he studied his cousin.

"Are you all right?" Then to Sasoli, "What did you do to her?"

Seeing Sasoli's face darken into a glower, Maron quickly stood up, "I'm fine. I went to visit Trunks and he wants Goten to go see him." With that said Maron sat back down and attempted to straighten her appearance.

"Why did you summon me?" Sasoli glanced around with a glare since she could neither feel or see any immediate threats.

"I've been receiving complaints about those damn detectives," Zarah glanced at Uub, "No offense."

"None taken," Uub sank into the office chair next to Maron amused. He was only happy that he was on the inside and not included in the 'damn detectives' category.

"What kind of complaints?" Sasoli sat on Uub's chair arm which earned a weird look from everyone in the room.

She ignored them.

"Apparently . . . Himbo? Bimbo?" Zarah's brow creased as he tried to remember the name.

"Himbon," Uub supplied, not bothering to hide his smirk at the interesting interpretations of his fellow detective's name.

"Right, anyway, he's been getting friendly with the female staff and, frankly, the secretaries are creeped out."

Zarah made a display of rolling his eyes.

"They finally know how it feels on the other end."

"And you called me because?" Sasoli lifted a brow.

Zarah shot her an annoyed look, "We can't have a record saying that we allow our female employees to be harassed with the murders going on. So go handle it."

Uub frowned, immediately confused with exactly how Sasoli was supposed to deal with the women employees dislike for agent Himbon.

Sasoli growled under her breath as she rubbed her forehead. "Uub, do you think we could get Himbon to agree to only interview the male employees and leave the rest to Beasely?"

All eyes swung to Uub.

"They won't like it," he turned the possibilities through his mind, "But they should agree to it."

"Great," Sasoli was on her feet and nearly out the door, "Uub, come."

The aforementioned man scrambled after her.

Maron and Zarah exchanged a bemused look.

"What's with them?" Maron had given up on her hair and just let it stay in it's poofed up glory.

"She's considering claiming him," Zarah angled his head downward as he played with a letter opener. "He doesn't know, of course."

"Of course," Maron nodded and gave her cousin a tired smile, "Well, I've finally made it. How can I help?"

Zarah's eyes became as huge and liquid as he could make them.

"I could use some help with the paperwork."

A laugh escaped her as he pouted for the full effect. Her smile withered as she took in the sheer volume of papers on the desk and uncertainty entered her gaze.

"Maron," he whined, "Everyone else has everything covered. Sasoli promised to help me but only when she's not busy and she's always busy."

Maron pursed her lips and blow out a breath of air as she considered her options. Truthfully, she was still Zarah's secretary and, until further notice, Zarah was now the president of the company. However, it was not in her job description to actually do her job's work for him, assist, yes, actually do the work, no. In that case, she might as well have his job and eliminate the middle man. Then again, the circumstances were anything but normal and she had promised to help.

Despite all her misgivings about the gigantic ominous stack of papers on Trunks' desk Maron nodded.

"Let's get to work then."

"Wait," Uub managed to get a hold on Sasoli's upper arm, "I need to ask you something."

She shook of his hand.

"Then ask." She folded her arms.

"When did you become a lawyer?"

She snorted and rolled her eyes as she turned and continued her path down the hallway.

"Since I passed the bar."

"You're really a lawyer?" Surprise and something very close to admiration colored his tone.

She sent him an amused look over her shoulder, "I don't practice."

That stopped him in his tracks. It took years of dedicated study and a certain kind of mind for that kind of achievement. Then she didn't even use it . . .

He was astounded. He was dismayed. He was also being left behind.

"Sasoli! Wait!"

"So what is a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Working," was the short answer.

Beasely shook his head and sadly chewed on the cigarette that he couldn't light in the building. Himbon was something else. Every single female employee they had managed to stumble across was treated to an odd assortment of questions regarding the case and personal information. He asked the pertinent questions while Himbon was demanding to know whether the marital status. Why did I get stuck with him again? Beasely rolled his eyes as Himbon went too far again, oh, I remember because I'm just too nice.

"Himbon," he called out.

Himbon stiffened and, just as suddenly, relaxed his posture and his clenched fists.

"Yeah?"

"Lay off the women, huh?" Beasely snickered, "We're here to solve a murder not get a date."

"Says who?" Himbon smirked and then backed down when Beasely gave him a cold look. "All right, all right, I get the point."

Beasely smiled grimly and tried to keep his disapprovingly look from showing too much. The people they let become detective these days.

"Hey, there's that chick from earlier," Himbon cocked his head to the side like a curious bird.

"Bra Briefs," Beasely nodded, "Heiress of Capsule Corporation."

"Heiress?" The note in Himbon's voice became interested.

"Himbon," there was a warning note in Beasely's voice.

"Just one more, I promise."

Which Himbon chose to ignore.

"Hey Goten," Bra startled her fiancé and laughed when he jumped a foot into the air.

"Bra!" Goten swallowed and steadied the packages in his hands. "You almost made me drop-"

"I just wanted to say hi," she pouted, "I'll just leave you alone if you don't want me here."

"No, Bra," Goten balanced the box precariously in one hand as he used the other to grab her arm. "It's not that . . . It's just I don't know what is in these boxes and if the contents get broken I'll be held responsible."

Bra lifted a brow as she glanced at the box and then at him.

"You realize, Goten, that anything in that box I could probably fix or altogether replace if need be."

Goten opened his mouth and then closed it with a perplexed look, "But that's not the point."

The other eyebrow joined the first, "Then what is?"

"This is my job, Bra, I can't just let you fix my mistakes," Goten nodded to himself.

Bra held her skeptical face for a moment before it melted into a genuine smile.

"You're so responsible," she hooked arms with him and pulled him down the hallway. He fumbled the box and barely managed to catch it. "I have to admit I was concerned if you would try to take advantage of the fact that I am rich."

Goten gave her a clueless look.

"What do you mean?"

Bra just squeezed his arm, "That's why I love you, Goten, you don't have a dishonest bone in your body."

Goten ducked his head to hide his blush.

"I would disagree."

Bra and Goten stopped in surprise to find both detectives blocking their path.

"Why just the other day," Himbon continued in a grave voice, "I heard you condone the tragic killings and sympathize with the killer."

Beasely's gaze sharpened on Goten as he realized what his partner was implying but if this was true . . . then why didn't Himbon bring this guy down to the station for questioning?

Goten frowned and opened his mouth to defend himself when Bra beat him to the punch.

Her lip curled with disgust. "You must be mistaken. Goten would never take the side of a murderer."

"You have such faith in him and yet he doesn't even defend himself," Himbon hid his cruel smirk.

Goten ignored the jab and angled his head to glance at Bra, "He's talking about Trunks."

"Trunks?" Bra was puzzled for a moment, "My brother isn't the killer, Detective Himbon. I would appreciate it if you would do your job and find the real killer."

Himbon took a step closer to her. "I will find the real killer," his eyes drifted over to Goten, "I just hope you can handle it if it turns out to be someone close to you."

Goten's eyes narrowed, "What are you trying to imply? That I killed those women?"

"Is that a confession?" Himbon smiled slyly.

End Chapter Nine

AN: Forgive the long absense : Glares into space: Life has decided that I need a job, so I am stressed out and frustrated. :Brightens suddenly: But I took a week off and spent the week with friends. Thus, I have completed this chapter and the one to follow which I will post on Friday . . . Sunday the lastest . . . :Shrugs: I guess it all depends on the response this chapter gets. :Smiles innocently: Read and review!